St. Louis Fed President James Bullard Steps Down

James Bullard, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, will be leaving the Bank effective August 14, 2023, to become dean of the Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business at Purdue University, effective August 15, 2023.

Kathleen O’Neill Paese, first vice president and COO of the St. Louis Fed, assumed the role of interim president and CEO, effective immediately.

Bullard has served as president since April 2008 and is the longest serving current Fed president.

“It has been both a privilege and an honor to be part of the St. Louis Fed for the last 33 years, including serving as its president for the last 15 years,” Bullard said.

Bullard has “recused himself from his monetary policy role on the Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee and other related duties and has ceased all public speaking,” the St. Louis Fed added.

Bullard, who is a non-voting member of the FOMC this year, has been considered a leading hawk on the Committee supporting aggressive interest rate hikes throughout the current tightening campaign.