For immediate release
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Contact: Daneil Mazone, Media Relations
Philadelphia — The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia today announced the appointment of Anna Paulson as its next president and chief executive officer. In this role, Paulson will represent the Third Federal Reserve District on the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) in the formulation of U.S. monetary policy and lead the organization.
Philadelphia Fed.
The Third District includes eastern and central Pennsylvania, Delaware, and southern New Jersey. Paulson will take office on July 1, 2025. She is currently executive vice president and director of research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
“Anna Paulson’s economics and monetary policy expertise, as well as her leadership at the Chicago Fed and throughout the Federal Reserve System, make her the ideal person to serve as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia,” said Anthony Ibargüen, executive chair, Culligan Quench and Culligan Latin America and chair of the search committee and of the Philadelphia Fed board of directors.
“For two decades, Anna has demonstrated a strong commitment to the Federal Reserve’s dual mandate of price stability and maximum employment. Her expansive technical expertise and mission-driven focus will be a tremendous asset to the Philadelphia Fed and the communities it serves,” Ibargüen continued.
Paulson has 20 years of experience as a leader in policy analysis and research related to financial stability and monetary policy. As executive vice president and director of research at the Chicago Fed, she advises the Bank’s president and CEO on monetary policy and attends FOMC meetings.
Paulson leads the Chicago Fed’s research and policy analysis work, overseeing the department that provides analytic support for monetary policymaking, and conducts research on banking and financial markets, macroeconomics, microeconomics, and the regional economy. In addition, she is an expert on financial markets and institutions, with particular expertise in the insurance industry. Paulson established the Chicago Fed’s Insurance Initiative, which analyzes financial stability and regulatory issues in the insurance industry on behalf of the Federal Reserve System. During her time at the Chicago Fed, she also oversaw the Bank’s public affairs and community development divisions.
Paulson joined the Chicago Fed as an economist in 2001 after serving as an assistant professor of finance at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and prior to that she was a postdoctoral fellow at Princeton University. In 2009, Paulson was promoted to vice president in the Financial Markets Group and became associate director of research in 2017. She was promoted to director of research in 2019.
Paulson’s research has been published in leading scholarly journals, including the Journal of Political Economy, Review of Economics and Statistics, and Review of Financial Studies. She is a past board member of the Western Economic Association International and the American Economic Association’s Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession.
Paulson received a B.A. from Carleton College and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Chicago.
“I am honored to serve as the next president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia,” Paulson said. “I look forward to meeting people throughout the Third District and leading the Philadelphia Fed team who are deeply committed to fostering the stability, integrity, and efficiency of the nation's monetary, financial, and payment systems. I am excited to become part of the community in the Third District.”
I am honored to serve as the next president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia ... I am excited to become part of the community in the Third District.
Anna Paulson
Philadelphia Fed's Next President & CEO
Paulson, age 60, will serve as the 12th president of the Philadelphia Fed. She succeeds Patrick T. Harker, whose 10-year tenure with the Bank will conclude on June 30, 2025, consistent with Federal Reserve mandatory age and length-of-service policies. Paulson will participate in FOMC meetings upon her start date and will become a voting member in 2026, following the established rotation of Reserve Banks.
As president, Paulson will help shape monetary policy as a member of the FOMC and will also be responsible for all of the Bank’s activities, including payment services, bank supervision, and community engagement. She will build and maintain relationships with a variety of constituencies, including business leaders and community representatives, to gain insight into the Third District’s economy.
Search Process
The selection of Paulson follows an expansive national search process that was announced in September 2024 and is consistent with Federal Reserve policies and the Federal Reserve Act. The search committee was composed of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s eligible Class B and Class C directors (nonbanking directors) in accordance with the Federal Reserve Act and the Bank’s bylaws.
Search committee members include:
- Anthony Ibargüen, Executive Chair, Culligan Quench and Culligan Latin America
- Sharmain Matlock-Turner, CEO of the Urban Affairs Coalition
- John Fry, President, Temple University
- Kisha Hortman Hawthorne, Senior Vice President and COO, Care Network and Behavioral Health and Crisis Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
- William Lo, CEO and Founder, Crystal Steel Fabricators, Inc.
- Bret Perkins, Senior Vice President, External and Government Affairs, Comcast Corporation
The search committee solicited input from communities and industry leaders throughout the Third District through a variety of forums, including a public town hall. This feedback was instrumental in screening and selecting potential candidates. The committee identified a broad and highly qualified candidate pool from a variety of backgrounds, professions, and regions across the country. Committee members conducted multiple rounds of interviews with candidates before making their selection.
For more information on the Philadelphia Fed’s presidential search, see philadelphiafed.org/presidentialsearch.
About the Philadelphia Fed
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia helps formulate and implement monetary policy, supervises state member banks, bank holding companies, and savings and loan holding companies, and provides financial services to depository institutions and the federal government. It is one of the 12 regional Reserve Banks that, together with the Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., make up the Federal Reserve System. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia serves eastern and central Pennsylvania, Delaware, and southern New Jersey.