A View From the Federal Reserve Bank

William J. McDonough - Speaker
President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York

William J. McDonough was appointed the eighth president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on July 19, 1993. In that capacity, he serves as the vice chairman and a permanent member of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the group responsible for formulating the nation's monetary policy. Mr. McDonough also serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Bank for International Settlements and Chairman of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision.

Mr. McDonough joined the New York Fed in January 1992 as executive vice president, head of the bank's markets group, and the manager of open market operations for the FOMC. He retired from First Chicago Corp. and its bank, First National Bank of Chicago, in 1989 after a 22-year career there. He was vice chairman of the board and a director of the bank holding company from 1986 until his retirement. Before joining the New York Fed, Mr. McDonough served as an advisor to a variety of domestic and international organizations. Prior to his career with First Chicago, Mr. McDonough was with the U.S. State Department from 1961 to 1967 and the U.S. Navy from 1956 to 1961.

His other positions include a member of the board of directors of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, the Foreign Policy Association, the Institute for International Economics, and vice chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations, as well as trustee of the Carnegie Corporation of New York. In addition, Mr. McDonough is a member of the Trilateral Commission and the Group of Thirty.

Mr. McDonough earned a master's degree in economics from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., in 1962, and a bachelor's degree, also in economics from Holy Cross College in Worchester, Mass., in 1956.

Mr. McDonough is married and lives in New York City.

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