The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland said it will launch a nationwide search for a new president and CEO to replace current head Loretta Mester, whose tenure ends in June 2024.
Mester, 65, will be retiring exactly a decade after she took the helm at the Cleveland Fed. She developed a reputation for being one of the US central bank’s more outspoken and hawkish policymakers, especially as officials moved aggressively over the past year and a half to tame the strongest inflation in a generation.
The search will be conducted by a committee of the Cleveland Fed’s board of directors, in line with the Fed’s policy for replacing bank presidents, the regional bank said on Wednesday.
The group will be led by Heidi Gartland, chief government and community relations officer for University Hospitals and the deputy chair of the Cleveland Fed’s board of directors. The Fed also hired the head-hunting firm Spencer Stuart to assist with the national search.
“We are committed to finding a new leader who can ensure the Bank continues to meet the high standard that President Mester has set,” Gartland said in a statement.
Mester is set to be a voting member on the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee next year.
Read More: Fed’s Mester Says Rates Are at or Near the ‘Holding Point’
Speaking late last month ahead of the Fed’s most recent policy meeting, Mester signaled she would still support another rate increase, in line with the projections officials released in September.
“From my forecast I would say we’re within one of the peak, then we can hold it there for a while,” she said Oct. 20. “It is important to guard against becoming complacent if it takes longer and longer to achieve the Fed’s 2% goal.”
Prior to heading the Cleveland Fed, Mester built a decades-long career as an economist and researcher at the Philadelphia Fed. She held several positions there over the years after joining in 1985, including executive vice president and director of research.
Under the Fed’s policies, heads of the 12 regional bank outposts can generally lead until they turn 65. Presidents appointed after age 55 can serve for up to 10 years or until they turn 75, whichever comes first.
The search for Mester’s replacement is being launched after several leadership changes at the Fed, and as the central bank faces increased pressure to improve diversity at the institution. Adriana Kugler became the bank’s first Hispanic policymaker when she was sworn in as a Fed governor this year. There is a search ongoing to replace former St. Louis Fed President James Bullard, who retired in August.
(Updates throughout with more context on Mester’s career and policy views)
