Presidential Search

CHICAGO (December 1, 2022) — Austan D. Goolsbee has been named president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago effective January 9, 2023, announced Dr. Helene Gayle, chair of the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

“Austan is an exceptional choice to be the next president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. He is a highly accomplished economist with extensive policy experience and a strong commitment to public service. I am confident in his future success as a national policymaker and chief executive of the Chicago Fed,” said Gayle, who served as chair of the search committee for the president.

Goolsbee is currently the Robert P. Gwinn Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business where he is in his 28th year on the faculty. He previously served in Washington as Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers and a member of the President’s cabinet.

Goolsbee is a leading empirical economist whose research has covered a wide range of industries including technology, manufacturing, airlines, automobiles, retail, business investment and services. The research has earned him recognition as a Fulbright Scholar and an Alfred P. Sloan fellow.

Goolsbee has served on the Board of Education for the City of Chicago, the Economic Advisory Panel to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the Panel of Economic Advisors to the Congressional Budget Office, the U.S. Census Advisory Committee, the Digital Economy Board of Advisors to the Commerce Department, and the External Advisory Group on Digital Technology for the International Monetary Fund.

He has long been an advocate for the use of new data sources in economics and helped create the leading private sector index of online inflation and documented how differently it behaves from standard measures like the Consumer Price Index. He is an outspoken supporter of expanding diversity in the economics profession especially in broadening the educational pipeline.

He has a Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an M.A./B.A. in economics from Yale University.

“The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago has always been one of the crown jewels of the Fed system and the district it represents is the backbone of the American economy,” Goolsbee said. “I am both humbled and excited to serve the public in this role. These have been challenging, unprecedented times for the economy. The Bank has an important role to play in helping the District get through them and to thrive going forward.”

Goolsbee, age 53, succeeds Charles L. Evans, who is retiring in January after 15 years as the Chicago Fed’s president and chief executive officer. Goolsbee will be the 10th president of the Chicago Fed.

“After a rigorous nationwide search, we are confident that Austan is the right person to lead the Chicago Fed, advancing both the vision and mission of the Reserve Bank and the work of the Federal Reserve System, while also serving the Seventh District,” said David Habiger, who served as co-chair of the search committee.

As president of the Chicago Fed, Goolsbee will serve the nation and Seventh Federal Reserve District, an economically and demographically diverse region made up of the state of Iowa, and most of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Goolsbee will contribute to national monetary policymaking as a member of the Federal Open Market Committee, while leading the Chicago Fed, which conducts research and monitors local economic conditions in support of the formulation of monetary policy, supervises and regulates banking organizations, and provides financial services to banks and similar institutions, as well as to the U.S. government.

The selection follows an expansive national search process consistent with the Federal Reserve Act and the policy of the Board of Governors. The process launched in April with the formation of a search committee made up of non-banking members of the Chicago Fed’s board of directors. The committee was chaired by Dr. Gayle, former President and CEO of The Chicago Community Trust who is currently the President of Spelman College. Habiger, President and CEO of J.D. Power served as co-chair. Other members of the search committee were Jennifer Scanlon, President and CEO of UL Solutions, and Linda Jojo, Executive Vice President and Chief Customer Officer, United Airlines, Inc.

As part of the search process, the committee sought input from a wide range of external and internal audiences. This included a series of focus groups across the region with attendees representing small business, economic development, agriculture, and labor organizations. The committee hosted a public town hall and conducted a digital outreach campaign that sought nominations from the public and feedback on what the committee should look for in the Chicago Fed’s next president.

The committee identified a broad, highly qualified and diverse candidate pool from a variety of backgrounds, professions and regions of the country. Committee members conducted multiple rounds of interviews with candidates before making their selection. The Bank’s eligible Class B and C directors appointed the Bank’s new president. Class B and C directors are those not affiliated with banks or related financial service institutions. The selection was then approved by the Federal Reserve System Board of Governors.

Goolsbee will fulfill the remainder of President Evans’ current five-year term that commenced on March 1, 2021 and ends on February 28, 2026 at which time he will be considered for reappointment through a rigorous and comprehensive process overseen by the Board of Governors. Goolsbee will become a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee upon taking office in 2023, following the established rotation of Reserve Banks.

At the Chicago Fed, we serve the public, fostering economic opportunity by advancing a healthy economy and promoting a trusted financial system. We contribute to the formulation and implementation of national monetary policy, supervise and regulate designated financial institutions, and provide financial services to depository institutions and the U.S. government. We serve the Seventh Federal Reserve District, which is comprised of Iowa and most of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin. We are part of the Federal Reserve System, which is made up of 12 regional Reserve Banks and the Board of Governors in Washington, D.C.