10 Things to Know About Jerome Powell

President Donald Trump nominated Jerome Powell last week to serve as the next chairman of the Federal Reserve. Mr. Powell, 64 years old, has served on the central bank's board of governors for the past five years. Below are a few factoids about his life:

1. Many people in government move to Washington, D.C., for work. Not Mr. Powell. He grew up in suburban Chevy Chase, Md., where he still lives and both his parents grew up there too.

2. Mr. Powell graduated from Georgetown Preparatory School, a Jesuit high school, where he played football. His father had been class valedictorian and his brother, three uncles and three cousins also graduated from the school. His 1971 class included Rep. Francis Rooney (R., Fla.) who was U.S. ambassador to the Vatican. Other notable alums include Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R., N.J.), and former Sen. Chris Dodd (D., Conn.).

3. Mr. Powell wrote his college thesis at Princeton University on the prospects for political change in South Africa, which at the time was living under apartheid.

4. After graduating from Princeton in 1975 and before attending law school, Mr. Powell worked for four months as a warehouse assistant at M.S. Ginn's, an office-supply store, in Bladensburg, Md.

5. As a partner at investment firm the Carlyle Group LP, Mr. Powell logged service on the boards of directors of beverage company Dr Pepper/Seven Up and Rexnord LLC, an industrial-products maker.

6. Mr. Powell has served on the board of several Washington-area nonprofits including the local chapter of the Nature Conservancy and several education groups.

7. About 20 years ago, at the request of the late James Cardinal Hickey, then the Catholic archbishop of Washington, D.C., Mr. Powell chaired a group that raised $30 million to help several struggling Catholic schools stay open.

8. Mr. Powell is an avid cyclist who used to ride his bike from his home in Chevy Chase to the downtown Washington headquarters of the Fed. He also has played guitar in rock 'n' roll bands.

9. Mr. Powell's wife, Elissa Leonard, is a television and film producer and a local elected official in Chevy Chase.

10. President Barack Obama first nominated Mr. Powell, a Republican, to the Fed's board of governors in 2012. Before that, a president hadn't nominated a new board member from outside his political party since 1988.

Write to David Harrison at david.harrison@wsj.com and Nick Timiraos at nick.timiraos@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 06, 2017 16:00 ET (21:00 GMT)