KANSAS CITY, MO.Esther George, president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, announced today she intends to retire in January 2023, as required by the Federal Reserve’s mandatory retirement rules for Reserve Bank presidents. George, who began serving as president on Oct. 1, 2011, marked 40 years of service at the Kansas City Fed in April.

Consistent with the process outlined by the Federal Reserve Act, the Kansas City Fed’s Board of Directors has formed a presidential search committee consisting of its Class B and C directors, who are not affiliated with the banking industry. The committee has launched a nationwide search to identify a broad, diverse and highly qualified pool of candidates for President George’s successor. Its work will be supported by Egon Zehnder, a global leadership advisory and executive search firm.

Under the process outlined by the Federal Reserve Act, Class B and C directors are responsible for appointing the president, subject to the approval of the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors in Washington, D.C.

The Search Committee members are:

  • Search Committee Chair - María Griego-Raby, President and Principal, Contract Associates, Albuquerque, New Mexico
  • Ruben Alonso III, Chief Executive Officer, AltCap, Kansas City, Missouri
  • Patrick A. Dujakovich, president, Greater Kansas City AFL-CIO, Kansas City, Missouri
  • Board Chair - Edmond Johnson, president and chief executive officer, Premier Manufacturing, Inc. and ENFusion, Frederick, Colorado
  • Doug Stussi, Executive Advisor, Love Family of Companies, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

“Under Esther’s leadership, the Kansas City Fed has continued to deliver operational excellence across its mission areas of financial services and financial institution supervision, as well as maintain a strong commitment to public engagement,” Griego-Raby said. “Our challenge is to select a leader who can continue to build on the Bank’s outstanding reputation and provide a thoughtful, independent view on monetary policy.”

Applicant referrals should be directed to Egon Zehnder at KCFedSearch@egonzehnder.com. To learn more about the search and for frequently asked questions, visit KansasCityFed.org/presidentialsearch. Updates will be provided at this website as they are available.

About the Kansas City Fed’s president

The Kansas City Fed’s president and CEO leads a public-facing institution that is responsible for conducting monetary policy, providing financial services to depository institutions and the U.S. Treasury, and supervising banking organizations within the Tenth Federal Reserve District, a seven-state region that includes western Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Colorado, Wyoming and northern New Mexico.

The president also represents the region on the Federal Open Market Committee, the Fed's monetary policy-making body, and is responsible for leading a workforce of more than 2,000 employees in Kansas City and its branch offices in Omaha, Denver and Oklahoma City. Click PDFhere to learn more about the Tenth District.

The full job position can be found PDFhere.

George has served as president of the Kansas City Fed since October 2011. She served much of her career in the Bank’s Division of Supervision and Risk Management, serving for 10 years as the Tenth District’s chief financial institution supervisor, which included oversight of the region’s state-chartered member banks and nearly 1,000 bank and financial holding companies, as well as the Bank’s discount window and risk-management functions. She was directly involved in the Tenth District’s banking supervision and discount window lending activities during the banking crisis of the 1980s and post-9/11.

She currently provides leadership for the Federal Reserve’s efforts to develop External LinkFedNowSM, an instant payments system, and she hosts the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s international Economic Policy Symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Hear from the Search Committee