Roger W. Ferguson, Jr.

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Roger W. Ferguson, Jr. (born October 28, 1951 in Washington, D.C.) is the President and Chief Executive Officer of TIAA-CREF. Dr. Ferguson joined TIAA-CREF in April 2008. ([1])

Ferguson is the Former Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and voting member of the FOMC. He originally took office on November 5, 1997, as a member of the Board to fill an unexpired term ending January 31, 2000. Ferguson was then sworn in on July 26, 2001, as a member of the Board of Governors to a full 14-year term originally ending January 31, 2014. However, Ferguson offered his resignation to President Bush in February 2006, with his service ending on April 28, 2006. As Vice Chairman, among other duties, Ferguson represented the Federal Reserve in international policy groups. He was also engaged in banking regulatory, financial stability and payments systems matters.

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[edit] International Policy Positions

Between July 1998 and March 2000, Ferguson served as Chairman of the Joint Y2K Council. The Council, supported by the Bank for International Settlements, was formed to address issues associated with the Year 2000 computer challenge within the global financial supervisory community.

Ferguson also served as Chairman of the Group of Ten Working Party on Financial Sector Consolidation. Formed in September 1999 at the request of the finance ministers and central bank governors of the G-10, the Working Party examined the causes of consolidation in the financial sector and its potential effects. The Working Party released its final report on January 25, 2001.

During 2003, Ferguson became the Chairman of the Committee on the Global Financial System (CGFS), a central bank panel that monitors and examines broad issues related to financial markets and systems. He also became the Chairman of the Financial Stability Forum (FSF), which promotes international financial stability through information exchange and international cooperation in financial supervision and surveillance. The Forum brings together on a regular basis national authorities responsible for financial stability in significant international financial centers. In his role as Chairman of the CGFS, Ferguson monitored financial markets and reported on financial conditions and financial stability to the Group of Ten (G10) Central Bank Governors. As Chairman of the FSF, Ferguson had a similar monitoring and reporting role for the Group of Seven (also known as the G8) Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors. He also presented an opening statement at the semi-annual meetings of the International Monetary and Financial Committee of the International Monetary Fund.

[edit] Employment History

Before becoming a member of the Board, Ferguson was a partner at McKinsey & Company, an international management consulting firm. He was based in New York City and he managed a variety of studies for financial institutions from 1984 to 1997. Dr. Ferguson also served as Director of Research and Information Systems, overseeing a staff of 400 research professionals and managing the firm's investments in knowledge management technologies.

From 1981 to 1984, Ferguson was an attorney at the New York City office of Davis Polk & Wardwell, where he worked with commercial banks, investment banks, and Fortune 500 corporations on syndicated loans, public offerings, mergers and acquisitions, and new product development.

On October 11, 2005, Lawrence Kudlow stated that he believes Alan Greenspan is pushing his name to the Bush Administration for the appointment of the Federal Reserve Chairmanship (although that position eventually went to fellow governor Ben Bernanke.) As a supply-side economist, Kudlow said he was worried that Ferguson would follow a Neo-Keynesian policy and would oppose the Bush Administration's economic policy. [citation needed]

On February 22, 2006, Ferguson sent his resignation letter to Bush citing "he wanted to pursue other professional opportunities". His resignation came into effect on April 28, 2006.

On June 19, 2006, Swiss Re announced his appointment as Chairman of Swiss Re America Holding Corporation and Member of Swiss Re's Executive Board. On October 3, 2006, Swiss Re announced his appointment as Head of Financial Services and Member of Swiss Re's Executive Committee.

On April 3, 2008, Roger W. Ferguson, Jr. was named the new president and Chief Executive Officer of TIAA-CREF, with a start date of April 14, 2008.

[edit] Not-for-Profit Service

Roger W. Ferguson, Jr. is a member of several not-for-profit boards, including the Board of Overseers of Harvard University, the Board of Trustees of the Institute for Advanced Study, the Board of Trustees of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and the Board of Trustees of the National Bureau of Economic Research. Formerly, Ferguson was an elected member of the Board of Directors of the Harvard Alumni Association and was Treasurer of the Friends of Education, a Trustees' Committee of The Museum of Modern Art.

Ferguson is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Group of Thirty.

In December 2007, Roger Ferguson was a guest of the American Academy in Berlin, Germany.

[edit] Personal

Roger W. Ferguson, Jr. is married to former SEC Commissioner Annette Nazareth, and they have two children.

[edit] Education

Ferguson received a B.A. in economics (magna cum laude) in 1973, a J.D. (cum laude) in 1979, and a Ph.D. in economics in 1981, all from Harvard University. In 1973 and 1974, he was Frank Knox Fellow at Pembroke College, Cambridge University, and in 2004 was elected to an Honorary Fellowship there. In addition, he has honorary degrees from Lincoln College and Webster University.

[edit] Achievements

Ferguson was the only Federal Reserve Governor in Washington DC on September 11, 2001. He was responsible for leading the Federal Reserve's initial response to the terrorist attacks and was praised for his expert handling of the crisis.[citation needed]

While at the Fed, Ferguson led two working groups to improve the transparency of FOMC decisions and the clarity of FOMC communication. These resulted in the release of a statement at the end of each FOMC meeting, explaining the rationale for the interest rate decision and including an assessment of the risks facing the economy. [citation needed]

With three co-authors, in November 2007 Ferguson published "International Financial Stability," Geneva Report No. 9, dealing with challenges to global financial stability and including observations regarding the liquidity crisis of 2007. [citation needed]

[edit] Awards

Roger W. Ferguson, Jr. has received several awards and honors, including:

  • The Distinguished Service Award from the Bond Market Association (2002)
  • The William F. Butler Memorial Award from the New York Association for Business Economics (2006)
  • The George Mitchell Payments Systems Excellence Award from NACHA (2005)
  • The Renaissance Award from the Abyssinian Development Corporation (2006)
  • The Frederick Heldering Global Leadership Award from the Global Interdependence Center (2006)
  • The first GAIM/CERF Global Financial Policy Award for significant contributions to effective governance of global capital markets from the Global Alternative Investment Management Forum (GAIM) and the Cambridge Endowment for Research in Finance (CERF) (2007)
  • The "Good Scout Award" from the National Capital Area Boy Scout Council (2007)

[edit] Trivia

On August 2, 2000, the satirical newspaper The Onion posed the question "Roger Ferguson: Hot or Not?" [citation needed]

Alan Greenspan has called Ferguson "one of the most effective Vice Chairmen in the history of the Federal Reserve." [citation needed]

When Ferguson announced his resignation from the Federal Reserve, the Law Blog of the Wall Street Journal speculated that he would become the next president of Harvard University.[1]

[edit] External links