UC Berkeley Press Release

Professor Janet Yellen Appointed President & CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

By Media Relations | 12 April 2004

BERKELEY – Professor Janet L. Yellen has been appointed president & chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, according to George M. Scalise, chairman of the San Francisco Federal Reserve Board of Directors. Yellen is the Eugene E. and Catherine M. Trefethen Professor of Business at the Haas School of Business and Professor of Economics at the University of California, Berkeley.

Janet Yellen

She will assume her new position on June 14, succeeding current president and CEO Robert T. Parry, who last September announced his intention to retire at mid-year after serving 18 years. Scalise said the appointment was made by the directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and approved by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in Washington, D.C.
Calling the appointment "brilliant", UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Berdahl said, "We are very happy for Janet. She has been an outspoken advocate for fiscal responsibility.

The Federal Reserve system will benefit from her leadership, as has this University and her students."

The Federal Reserve Bank in San Francisco is the head office covering nine Western states, making it the largest district within the Federal Reserve System.

Yellen has served on the Haas School faculty since 1980. She previously was on leave to serve on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System from 1994 to 1997 in Washington, D.C. and as chair of President Clinton's Council of Economic Advisers from 1997 to 1999.

"I'm honored to have been chosen for this key position, and I look forward to meeting employees and community leaders throughout the highly diverse states that comprise the largest district in the Federal Reserve System," Yellen said. "It will be a pleasure to return to Washington for monetary policy meetings representing the critical economic forces embodied in the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco's Twelfth District.

Outgoing President & CEO Robert T. Parry said, "I've known and worked with Janet for a number of years. She is an outstanding economist, and she made very significant contributions to the monetary policy process during her tenure as a governor of the Federal Reserve Board. I know that Janet will be a superb president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco."

Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said, "I am pleased to welcome Dr. Yellen back to the Federal Reserve System. She has distinguished herself through consistently incisive analysis, impressive skill and unwavering integrity. We benefited greatly from her exceptional service as a Federal Reserve Board governor and I look forward to the many contributions she will bring in her new role, to both the San Francisco Bank and the Federal Open Market Committee."

"We conducted a nationwide search," Scalise said, "and identified a slate of highly-qualified candidates. Dr. Yellen rose to the top as our pick, because of her extraordinary combination of monetary policy expertise, experience as a Federal Reserve Board governor in Washington, fiscal policy experience at the White House, and her extensive academic, international trade, finance, and economic experience and research background."

Dr. Yellen, 57, holds a B.A. in economics from Brown University, and a Ph.D. in economics from Yale University. She was awarded honorary doctorates in humane letters and laws, by Bard College and Brown University, respectively. Since 1980, she has been conducting research at the Haas School and teaching macroeconomics to full-time and part-time MBA students. Twice she has been awarded the Haas School's outstanding teaching award. In addition, she served as chair of the President's Council of Economic Advisers from 1997 to 1999, and was a member of the Federal Reserve System's Board of Governors from 1994 to 1997. She has taught at Harvard University and at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Yellen serves as president of the Western Economic Association International and vice president of the American Economic Association. She is a fellow of the Yale Corporation. She is also the recipient of numerous honors and awards, and her research has been widely published. She has collaborated professionally with her husband, George Akerlof, a UC Berkeley Nobel prize-winning economist, on topics ranging from labor market, income, wage and employment issues to a variety of socio-economic issues.