Richmond Fed selects Thomas Barkin as new president
The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond has selected Thomas Barkin, a top executive at McKinsey & Co., as its next president and chief executive, the bank said Monday.
Mr. Barkin, 56 years old, succeeds Jeffrey Lacker, who stepped down from his post in April after admitting his involvement in the unauthorized disclosure of internal Fed information to an analyst in 2012.
Mr. Barkin has worked for McKinsey for about 30 years and is based in the firm's Atlanta office, where his clients include financial institutions and travel and transportation companies. He is also a member of the board of trustees at Emory University.
He served as chairman of the Atlanta Fed's board of directors in 2013 and 2014. He studied economics as an undergraduate at Harvard University and earned law and business school degrees there as well.
In a statement released by the Richmond Fed, Mr. Barkin said he plans "to be heavily engaged across the Fifth District to learn more about the challenges and opportunities facing our communities and bringing these perspectives forward as part of my monetary policy considerations and contributions."
Mr. Barkin will begin his new job Jan. 1.
The heads of the Fed's 12 reserve banks are chosen by the nonbank directors of each institution. Finalists must also interview with and win approval from the Fed's Washington-based board of governors.
The Richmond Fed leader will serve as a voting member of the Fed's rate-setting committee next year.