U.S. Senate Confirms St. Louis Fed Research Director to become Governor

Chris Waller, executive vice president and research director at the St. Louis Fed.

The St. Louis Fed has a new claim to fame: Chris Waller, executive vice president and research director at the Bank, has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate as Federal Reserve governor.

Waller will fill a currently unexpired term ending Jan. 31, 2030.

In his new role, Waller will serve as a policymaker on the Federal Open Market Committee, alongside St. Louis Fed President Jim Bullard and other Reserve Bank presidents and Fed governors. He will move from advising on and informing monetary policy to being part of the group that sets it.

“The Senate’s confirmation of Chris Waller to become a Fed governor is fantastic news,” Bullard said. “Chris has served superbly as the St. Louis Fed’s director of research. He exemplifies the Bank’s longstanding tradition of thought leadership in monetary policy and macroeconomic research. Chris will be an excellent Fed governor, and I look forward to our new working relationship as well as our continued friendship.”

Waller shared with Bank colleagues that he is deeply honored by this opportunity to serve the country.

Waller is a highly respected scholar, professor and expert in central banking and monetary policy. Following a distinguished career in academia, Waller joined the St. Louis Fed in 2009 and has been a member of its management committee. He is widely published on topics of monetary policy and the macroeconomy. Waller’s executive bio and photo can be found at stlouisfed.org, and his CV can be found on his bio page on the website for the St. Louis Fed’s Research division.

Upon his swearing in, Waller will be the second St. Louis Fed economist who went on to serve on the Board of Governors. Susan Bies was on the Bank’s research staff in the early 1970s and served as a Fed governor from December 2001 to March 2007. 

A little bit about the Board of Governors: Located in Washington, D.C., it is an independent agency of the federal government. It includes seven members whose appointments must by law yield a “fair representation of the financial, agricultural, industrial, and commercial interests and geographical divisions of the country,” the Board explains, and no two governors may come from the same Federal Reserve District. Members are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate.

The Federal Reserve System comprises the Board of Governors along with 12 independent Reserve banks across the country.