St. Louis Fed Names Alberto G. Musalem as Its Next President and CEO

ST LOUIS — The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis announced today that Alberto G. Musalem will be its next president and chief executive officer. In this role, Musalem will represent the Eighth Federal Reserve District in national monetary policymaking on the Federal Open Market Committee and will lead the 1,500 employees of the St. Louis Fed. He will begin his role on April 2, 2024.

Incoming President & CEO Alberto G. Musalem

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“Alberto will be an outstanding president and CEO of the St. Louis Fed,” said St. Louis Fed Director Carolyn Chism Hardy, president and CEO of Chism Hardy Investments LLC in Bartlett, Tenn., and deputy chair of the Bank’s search committee. “As an experienced economist, former Federal Reserve leader, collaborator and communicator, he comes with the exceptional technical expertise and leadership abilities needed to contribute to effective policymaking and advance a large organization in service to the public. Alberto is a mission-focused leader, and I am confident he will work tirelessly to promote a healthy economy for all in representing the diverse views of the constituents across the Fed’s Eighth District.”

Musalem has more than 27 years of public and private sector experience in economic policy, finance and markets. Most recently, he was CEO, co-chief investment officer and co-founder of Evince Asset Management, a quantitative investment technology company. Prior to Evince, he was executive vice president and senior advisor to the president at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, where he was head of integrated policy analysis, international affairs and a member of the Bank’s Management Committee. Prior to the New York Fed, he was managing director, partner and global head of research at Tudor Investment Corporation focusing on the interaction of economic policy, macroeconomic performance and markets. As an economist at the International Monetary Fund, he worked with IMF teams and country authorities on monetary policy and inflation targeting frameworks, fiscal responsibility rules and banking systems during the emerging market crises of the late 1990s.

He is an adjunct professor of finance at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business and serves on the boards of the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) and Man Group. He will step down from these positions before taking office. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Economic Club of New York. Previously, he served as chair and director of School the World, a nonprofit committed to solving extreme poverty through education. More information about his professional experience can be found in his bio.

Musalem earned his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Pennsylvania and his master’s and bachelor’s degrees in economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He was born in Bogota, Colombia, and lived in Brazil and Argentina before emigrating to the U.S. and graduating from Maryland’s public school system.

“I am deeply honored to serve as the next president of the St. Louis Fed and grateful for the opportunity to promote a strong, resilient and inclusive economy,” Musalem said. “I look forward to engaging with the people and communities of the Eighth Federal Reserve District to represent this part of the country at the monetary policy table. I am thrilled to lead the outstanding St. Louis Fed team in our service to the district and the nation as a fiscal agent for the U.S. Treasury, supervisor of financial institutions, research engine and innovator. I am eager to get started.”

Musalem, age 55, will be the 13th president of the St. Louis Fed. He succeeds Jim Bullard, who resigned from his role in July 2023 after 15 years as the St. Louis Fed’s president and CEO to become dean of the business school at Purdue University. Musalem will fulfill the remainder of Bullard’s current five-year term that began on March 1, 2021, and ends on Feb. 28, 2026, at which time Musalem will be considered for reappointment under a process established by the Federal Reserve Board of Governors for all Reserve bank presidents. Until his April 2 start date, St. Louis Fed First Vice President Kathy O’Neill will continue to serve as interim president and CEO.

As president of the St. Louis Fed, Musalem will rotate with other regional Reserve bank presidents as a voting member on the FOMC. He will participate in FOMC meetings upon his start date and will be a voting member in 2025.

The Search Process

Musalem’s appointment follows an extensive national search process, consistent with the Federal Reserve Act and policy of the Board of Governors. The search process launched in July 2023 with the formation of a search committee composed of the six non-banking directors of the Bank’s board of directors. The search committee was chaired by Jim McKelvey, founder and CEO of Invisibly Inc. and 2023 chair of the St. Louis Fed board; McKelvey’s board term ended Dec. 31, 2023. Chism Hardy, 2023 deputy chair of the Bank’s board, served as deputy chair of the search committee. Other members of the search committee included Lal Karsanbhai, president and CEO of Emerson Electric Co.; Andrew Clyde, president and CEO of Murphy USA Inc.; Penny Pennington, managing partner, Edward Jones; and Michael Ugwueke, president and CEO of Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare.

Committed to a process that was robust, transparent, fair and inclusive, the search committee sought input from a wide range of internal and external audiences on the key attributes desired in a new leader and on potential prospects. The search committee also ensured that the Bank had a comprehensive communications program in place to provide broad-based public awareness of the search, understanding of how the search process worked and information on how to apply. A broad and diverse candidate pool was considered. After several rounds of interviews, the search committee agreed unanimously on its selection, which, by law, then went to the Board of Governors for approval. More information about the search process, including the job profile, can be found on the St. Louis Fed’s website.

About the St. Louis Fed

Headquartered in St. Louis, with branches in Little Rock, Louisville and Memphis, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis serves the states that make up the Federal Reserve’s Eighth District, which includes all of Arkansas, eastern Missouri, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, western Kentucky, western Tennessee and northern Mississippi. The St. Louis Fed is one of 12 regional Reserve banks that, along with the Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., constitute the Federal Reserve System. As the nation's central bank, the Federal Reserve System formulates U.S. monetary policy, regulates state-chartered member banks and bank holding companies, provides payment services to financial institutions and the U.S. government, and promotes financial literacy, economic education and community development.