Wall Street heavyweight Beth Hammack is set to become the next president and chief executive of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, the bank announced Wednesday.
Hammack, 52, has carved out a distinguished 31-year career at Goldman Sachs, where she became a partner in 2010 and most recently co-headed the global financing division. Her journey at Goldman began in 1993 as an analyst in capital markets, eventually leading her to the interest-rate trading desk and various management roles.
Notably, Hammack has chaired the Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee, providing crucial advice on the government’s borrowing strategies.
Hammack is slated to take over from Loretta Mester, who spent a decade at the helm of the Cleveland Fed. Mester has been known for her hawkish stance, meaning she has focused on inflation risks and favored higher interest rates.
When Hammack assumes her new role on August 21, she will also join the Fed’s interest-rate committee as a voting member.
Hammack is a Stanford University graduate, with degrees in quantitative economics and history.
The presidents of the Fed’s 12 reserve banks are chosen by the banks’ own boards of directors, usually made up of top business or nonprofit honchos. These choices then need the green light from the Fed’s board of governors in Washington.
The Cleveland Fed district covers all of Ohio and slices of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Kentucky.
Federal election records indicate that Hammack has donated to Senator Chuck Schumer, the New York Democrat, and to Republican David McCormick, the former hedge fund executive who is running for the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania.