Kansas City Fed’s George To Retire

Kansas City Fed President Esther George will retire in January, creating a second leadership opening among the 12 regional Fed banks in 2023.

As a reminder, the Kansas City Fed district includes seven states: western Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Colorado, Wyoming and northern New Mexico.

George is a 2022 voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee.

The Kansas City Fed said a five-member search committee has been formed and has “launched a nationwide search to identify a broad, diverse and highly qualified pool of candidates,” to replace George.

Full Kansas City Fed statement:

Esther George, president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, announced today she intends to retire in January 2023, as required by the Federal Reserve’s mandatory retirement rules for Reserve Bank presidents. George, who began serving as president on Oct. 1, 2011, marked 40 years of service at the Kansas City Fed in April.

“Under Esther’s leadership, the Kansas City Fed has continued to deliver operational excellence across its mission areas of financial services and financial institution supervision, as well as maintain a strong commitment to public engagement,” Griego-Raby said.

“Our challenge is to select a leader who can continue to build on the Bank’s outstanding reputation and provide a thoughtful, independent view on monetary policy.”

Consistent with the process outlined by the Federal Reserve Act, the Kansas City Fed’s Board of Directors has formed a presidential search committee consisting of its Class B and C directors, who are not affiliated with the banking industry. The committee has launched a nationwide search to identify a broad, diverse and highly qualified pool of candidates for President George’s successor. Its work will be supported by Egon Zehnder, a global leadership advisory and executive search firm.

Under the process outlined by the Federal Reserve Act, Class B and C directors are responsible for appointing the president, subject to the approval of the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors in Washington, D.C.

George’s departure will come around the same time that Chicago Fed chief Charles Evans steps down.

Both will have turned 65.

So George gets to vote on, and implement, the most hawkish Fed policy in 40 years… then walk away right after the Midterms