Philadelphia Fed Names Chicago Fed’s Anna Paulson as President

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia appointed Anna Paulson, who currently serves as the Chicago Fed’s head of research, as its next president.

Paulson will replace Patrick Harker, who is stepping down June 30 after a decade in the role. She will take office on July 1 and be the first woman to lead the Philadelphia Fed.

Paulson will be a voting member on the central bank’s rate-setting committee next year, but will attend and participate in Federal Open Market Committee meetings once she assumes the role. Her appointment brings the number of women among the Fed’s 19 policymakers to eight.

“Anna is a strong economist and leader, whom I have known for many years,” said Loretta Mester, a former president of the Cleveland Fed who spent nearly three decades at the Philadelphia Fed. “She combines an in-depth knowledge of monetary policy and macroeconomics with expertise in financial stability. This is a very valuable combination for the Federal Reserve.”

The Philadelphia Fed announced a nationwide search for Harker’s successor in September.

She also established the Chicago Fed’s Insurance Initiative, a program that analyzes financial stability and regulatory issues in the insurance industry for the Fed. She received her bachelor’s degree from Carleton College and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Chicago.

“I am honored to serve as the next president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia,” Paulson said in a statement Thursday. “I look forward to meeting people throughout the Third District and leading the Philadelphia Fed team who are deeply committed to fostering the stability, integrity, and efficiency of the nation’s monetary, financial, and payment systems.”

Pivotal Time

Paulson will be joining at a key time for Fed policymakers, as tariffs threaten to push up both inflation and unemployment. Several officials have underscored the importance of ensuring inflation doesn’t become more persistent.

Read More: Fed Leans Against Inflation and Away From Preemptive Rate Cuts

Fed Chair Jerome Powell stressed Wednesday that price stability is essential for sustaining a strong labor market.

“It’s a good hire that continues in the tradition of the Philadelphia Fed in hiring from within the Federal Reserve system,” said Joseph Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM US LLP. “My sense is that she will be focused like a laser on keeping inflation expectations anchored amidst a unique confluence of conditions that point towards stagflation.”

Harker, an engineer by training and with an extensive career in academia, took the helm of the Philadelphia Fed in 2015. He was reappointed for a second term in 2021. Prior to that role, Harker served as the president of the University of Delaware and as dean of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Presidents of the Fed’s 12 regional reserve banks are selected by a subset of each bank’s board of directors. Those picks are subject to approval by the Board of Governors in Washington.

Harker’s appointment in 2015 sparked some controversy at the time after it was revealed that he, as a Philadelphia Fed board member, was also initially part of the board’s search committee for the next president.

Catarina Saraiva, Bloomberg Federal Reserve Reporter reports.

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