William McDonough

President, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, William McDonough took office on July 19, 1993, as the eighth chief executive of the Second District Federal Reserve Bank, at New York. In that capacity, he serves as the vice chairman and a permanent member of the Federal Open Market Committee. He is currently serving a full term that began March 1, 2001.

Mr. McDonough was born on April 21, 1934, in Chicago, Illinois. He earned a master's degree in economics from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., in 1962, and a bachelor's degree, also in economics, from Holy Cross College in Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1956.

He joined the bank in January 1992. Before his present appointment, Mr. McDonough was executive vice president and head of the financial markets group of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, which includes domestic open market and foreign exchange operations and U.S. government securities market surveillance. In conjunction with that post, he was the manager of open market operations for the Federal Open Market Committee.

Mr. McDonough retired from First Chicago Corp. and its bank, First National Bank of Chicago, in 1989 after a 22-year career there. After leaving First Chicago, Mr. McDonough served in a variety of executive roles, including adviser to the World Bank and International Finance Corporation on the selection of outside auditors, special adviser to the president of the Inter-American Development Bank, and chairman of the Illinois Commission on the Future of Public Service.

At First Chicago, he was vice chairman of the board and a director of the bank holding company from 1986 until his retirement. Between 1980 and 1986, he was executive vice president and chief financial officer of the bank and, from 1973 to 1980, was executive vice president and head of worldwide banking. Prior to his career with First Chicago, Mr. McDonough was with the U.S. State Department from 1961 to 1967 and with the U.S. Navy from 1956 to 1961.

Mr. McDonough serves as a member of the board of directors of the Bank for International Settlements and as chairman of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. He is also a member of the board of governors of the New York Academy of Sciences, the board of governors of the Foreign Policy Association, the board of directors of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, and the board of directors of the Council on Foreign Relations. He is a member of the Trilateral Commission and chairman of the board of trustees of The Economic Club of New York.