William J. McDonough

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other persons named William McDonough, see William McDonough (disambiguation).

William J. McDonough, vice chairman and special advisor to the chairman at Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. is responsible for assisting senior management in the company's business development efforts with governments and financial institutions.

Previously, from 2003 to 2005, he was chairman of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, a private-sector, not-for-profit corporation created by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to oversee auditors of public companies.

From 1993 to 2003, Mr. McDonough served as president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. As president, he served as the vice chairman and a permanent member of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), which formulates U.S. monetary policy. Mr. McDonough also served on the board of directors of the Bank for International Settlements and chairman of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. He joined the New York Fed in 1992 as executive vice president, head of the bank's markets group and manager of the FOMC's open market operations.

Mr. McDonough retired from First Chicago Corporation 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. Mr. McDonough earned a master's degree in economics from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and a bachelor's degree, also in economics, from Holy Cross College in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Mr. McDonough is a member of the board of directors of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. Mr. McDonough is chairman of the Investment Committee for the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund, and is co-chairman of the United Nations Association of the United States of America.