- Roger W. Ferguson, Jr.
Roger W. Ferguson, Jr. (born
October 28 ,1951 inWashington, D.C. ) is the President and Chief Executive Officer ofTIAA-CREF . Dr. Ferguson joinedTIAA-CREF in April 2008. ( [http://www.tiaa-cref.org/about/press/about_us/releases/pressrelease236.html?tc_ac=pbnAnnouncement040308] )Ferguson is the Former Vice Chairman of the
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and voting member of theFOMC . He originally took office onNovember 5 ,1997 , as a member of the Board to fill an unexpired term endingJanuary 31 ,2000 . Ferguson was then sworn in onJuly 26 ,2001 , as a member of the Board of Governors to a full 14-year term originally endingJanuary 31 ,2014 . However, Ferguson offered his resignation to President Bush in February 2006, with his service ending onApril 28 , 2006. As Vice Chairman, among other duties, Ferguson represented the Federal Reserve in international policy groups. He was also engaged in banking regulatory, financial stability and payments systems matters.International Policy Positions
Between July 1998 and March 2000, Ferguson served as Chairman of the Joint Y2K Council. The Council, supported by the
Bank for International Settlements , was formed to address issues associated with the Year 2000 computer challenge within the global financial supervisory community.Ferguson also served as Chairman of the Group of Ten Working Party on Financial Sector Consolidation. Formed in September 1999 at the request of the
finance minister s andcentral bank governors of the G-10, the Working Party examined the causes of consolidation in the financial sector and its potential effects. The Working Party released its final report on January 25, 2001.During 2003, Ferguson became the Chairman of the Committee on the Global Financial System (CGFS), a central bank panel that monitors and examines broad issues related to financial markets and systems. He also became the Chairman of the Financial Stability Forum (FSF), which promotes international financial stability through information exchange and international cooperation in financial supervision and surveillance. The Forum brings together on a regular basis national authorities responsible for financial stability in significant international financial centers. In his role as Chairman of the CGFS, Ferguson monitored financial markets and reported on financial conditions and financial stability to the Group of Ten (G10) Central Bank Governors. As Chairman of the FSF, Ferguson had a similar monitoring and reporting role for the Group of Seven (also known as the G-7) Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors. He also presented an opening statement at the semi-annual meetings of the International Monetary and Financial Committee of the
International Monetary Fund .Employment History
Before becoming a member of the Federal Reserve Board, Ferguson was a partner at
McKinsey & Company , an international management consulting firm. He was based in New York City and he managed a variety of studies for financial institutions from 1984 to 1997. Dr. Ferguson also served as Director of Research and Information Systems, overseeing a staff of 400 research professionals and managing the firm's investments inknowledge management technologies.From 1981 to 1984, Ferguson was an attorney at the New York City office of
Davis Polk & Wardwell , where he worked withcommercial bank s,investment bank s, andFortune 500 corporations onsyndicated loan s, public offerings,mergers and acquisitions , andnew product development .On October 11, 2005,
Lawrence Kudlow stated that he believesAlan Greenspan is pushing his name to the Bush Administration for the appointment of the Federal Reserve Chairmanship (although that position eventually went to fellow governorBen Bernanke .) As asupply-side economist, Kudlow said he was worried that Ferguson would follow a Neo-Keynesian policy and would oppose the Bush Administration's economic policy. [citation needed]On October 25, 2005,
The Washington Post reported that senior members at the Federal Reserve, includingAlan Greenspan , were encouraging the Bush Administration to appoint Ferguson to the Federal Reserve Chairmanship. The position eventually went toBen Bernanke . ( [http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/916111221.html?dids=916111221:916111221&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&fmac=&date=Oct+25%2C+2005&author=Jonathan+Weisman&desc=Bernanke+Seen+as+Safe+Pick+For+a+White+House+in+Straits] )On February 22, 2006, Ferguson sent his resignation letter to Bush citing "he wanted to pursue other professional opportunities". His resignation came into effect on April 28, 2006.
On June 19, 2006,
Swiss Re announced his appointment as Chairman of Swiss Re America Holding Corporation and Member of Swiss Re's Executive Board. On October 3, 2006, Swiss Re announced his appointment as Head of Financial Services and Member of Swiss Re's Executive Committee.On April 3, 2008, Roger W. Ferguson, Jr. was named the new president and Chief Executive Officer of TIAA-CREF, with a start date of April 14, 2008.
Not-for-Profit Service
Roger W. Ferguson, Jr. is a member of several not-for-profit boards, including the Board of Overseers of
Harvard University , serving as President during 2008-2009, the Board of Trustees of theInstitute for Advanced Study , the Board of Trustees of theCarnegie Endowment for International Peace , and the Board of Trustees of theNew America Foundation . Formerly, Ferguson was an elected member of the Board of Directors of the Harvard Alumni Association, a member of the Board of Trustees of theNational Bureau of Economic Research , and Treasurer of the Friends of Education, a Trustees' Committee ofThe Museum of Modern Art .Ferguson is a member of the
Council on Foreign Relations and theGroup of Thirty .In December 2007, Roger Ferguson was a guest of the
American Academy in Berlin , Germany.Personal
Roger W. Ferguson, Jr. is married to former SEC Commissioner
Annette Nazareth , and they have two children.Education
Ferguson received a B.A. in
economics (magna cum laude ) in 1973, aJ.D. (cum laude) in 1979, and a Ph.D. in economics in 1981, all fromHarvard University . In 1973 and 1974, he wasFrank Knox Fellow at Pembroke College, Cambridge University, and in 2004 was elected to an Honorary Fellowship there. In addition, he hashonorary degree s fromLincoln College andWebster University .Achievements
Ferguson was the only Federal Reserve Governor in Washington DC on
September 11, 2001 . He was responsible for leading the Federal Reserve's initial response to the terrorist attacks and was praised for his expert handling of the crisis. ( [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/23/business/23fed.html?_r=1&scp=11&sq=roger+ferguson+federal+reserve&st=nyt&oref=slogin] )While at the Fed, Ferguson led two working groups to improve the transparency of
FOMC decisions and the clarity of FOMC communication. These resulted in the release of a statement at the end of each FOMC meeting, explaining the rationale for the interest rate decision and including an assessment of the risks facing the economy. ( [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C01E4DA1331F93BA35753C1A96F958260&sec=&spon=&scp=24&sq=roger%20ferguson%20federal%20reserve&st=cse] )With three co-authors, in November 2007 Ferguson published "International Financial Stability," Geneva Report No. 9, dealing with challenges to global financial stability and including observations regarding the liquidity crisis of 2007. ( [http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e863bc44-918e-11dc-9590-0000779fd2ac.html] )
Ferguson served as the vice chairman of the
Group of 30 study group that published "The Structure of Financial Supervision: Approaches and Challenges in a Global Marketplace". The study of the regulatory structure of 17 jurisdictions was released on October 6, 2008. ( [http://www.group30.org/100608release.pdf] )Awards
Roger W. Ferguson, Jr. has received several awards and honors, including:
* Economics in Government Distinguished Lecturer sponsored by the Society of Government Economists and the
American Economic Association (2004)* The Distinguished Service Award from the Bond Market Association (2002)
* The William F. Butler Memorial Award from the New York Association for Business Economics (2006)
* The George Mitchell Payments Systems Excellence Award from
NACHA (2005)* The Renaissance Award from the Abyssinian Development Corporation (2006)
* The Frederick Heldering Global Leadership Award from the
Global Interdependence Center (2006)* The first GAIM/CERF Global Financial Policy Award for significant contributions to effective governance of global capital markets from the Global Alternative Investment Management Forum (GAIM) and the Cambridge Endowment for Research in Finance (CERF) (2007)
* The "Good Scout Award" from the National Capital Area Boy Scout Council (2007)
Trivia
On August 2, 2000, the satirical newspaper "
The Onion " posed the question "Roger Ferguson:Hot or Not ?" ( [http://www.theonion.com/content/node/34803] )Alan Greenspan has called Ferguson "one of the most effective Vice Chairmen in the history of the Federal Reserve." ( [http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/991873341.html?dids=991873341:991873341&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&fmac=&date=Feb+23%2C+2006&author=Nell+Henderson&desc=Fed+Vice+Chairman+Resigns%2C+Adding+to+Turnover+at+Top] )When Ferguson announced his resignation from the Federal Reserve, the Law Blog of the
Wall Street Journal speculated that he would become the next president of Harvard University. [ [http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2006/02/23/roger-ferguson-harvards-next-president Roger Ferguson: Harvard's Next President?] ]References
External links
* [http://www.federalreserve.gov Federal Reserve]
* [http://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/press/other/2006/20060222/attachment.pdf Resignation Letter]
* [http://www.fsforum.org/home.html Financial Stability Forum]
* [http://www.bis.org/cgfs/index.htm Committee on the Global Financial System]
* [http://www.cepr.org/pubs/books/P183.asp International Financial Stability, Geneva Report No 9]
* [http://www.interdependence.org Global Interdependence Center]
* [http://www.sge-econ.org Society of Government Economists]
* [http://www.cerf.cam.ac.uk Cambridge Endowment for Research in Finance]
*http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120723389445586473.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
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