Philadelphia Fed president Harker to step down next year

Patrick Harker, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, will step down from his post next June, the bank announced Wednesday.

A search committee of six board members for the regional Fed bank has been formed to search for Harker's replacement. The bank has also hired the executive search firm Spencer Stuart to aid the process.

Harker took the reins at the Philly Fed in 2015, taking over for Charles Plosser, who held the position for nine years. From the role, Harker has overseen the reserve's research and supervisory functions and leads its community outreach efforts. He's also had a seat on the Fed's monetary policy arm, the Federal Open Market Committee, on a rotating basis. The next president of the Philadelphia Fed will be an alternate on the FOMC in 2025 and a voting member in 2026.

Harker is the longest-serving of the presidents currently in the Federal Reserve System, though Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams led the San Francisco Fed for seven years before moving to New York in 2018.

The Philly Fed oversees the Fed's third district, which has the smallest geographical footprint of any of the 12 Fed districts. Sandwiched between New York, Richmond and Cleveland, the region consists of the southern half of New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania and Delaware.

Because the district also has the highest poverty rate in the system, it serves as a research venue for consumer issues as well as urban economics.

In a statement, the Philly Fed said its search committee would conduct a "rigorous, comprehensive search to identify a diverse pool of qualified candidates who demonstrate expertise and a deep commitment to public service."

The search committee will consist of three class B directors ? those chosen by member banks to represent the community ? and three class C directors, who were chosen by the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in Washington. It will be led by Anthony Ibarg?en, CEO of Quench USA, and chair of the Philadelphia Fed board. Other members include Sharmain Matlock-Turner, CEO, Urban Affairs Coalition; John Fry, president of Drexel University; William Lo, CEO and Founder, Crystal Steel Fabricators; Bret Perkins, an executive from Comcast (CMCSA); and Julia H. Klein, chair and CEO of C.H. Briggs Company.

Along with the search committee, the board of governors will also play a role in evaluating candidates and ultimately vote on whomever the directors choose for the position.

Before joining the Fed, Harker served as president of the University of Delaware, where he also taught business administration in the business school as well as civil and environmental engineering. Before that, he held academic and administrative roles with the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business.

Harker was class B director of the Philadelphia Fed from 2012 to 2015.

In addition to his role as president, Harker serves as a member of the Select Operating Committee of Select Greater Philadelphia, a nonprofit aimed at spurring economic growth in the Philadelphia region. In the past, he served on boards such as the Catholic Relief Services, Pepco Holdings and Huntsman Corporation (HUN) and was a founding member of the board of advisors for Decision Lens.

"President Harker has done an excellent job leading the Philadelphia Fed and representing the Third District within the Federal Reserve System throughout the last decade," said Ibarg?en. "We will run an open and inclusive nationwide search including broad input from the Third District community. Our goal is to find a new leader who will carry on President Harker's service to our communities and commitment to promoting a strong U.S. economy."