Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland CEO and leadership

As president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, Loretta J. Mester participates in the formulation of U.S. monetary policy, and oversees 1,000 employees in Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh who conduct economic research, supervise banking institutions, and provide payment services to commercial banks and the U.S. government. She assumed her role as president and CEO in June 2014.

Dr. Mester was born in Baltimore, MD. She graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor of arts degree in mathematics and economics from Barnard College of Columbia University. She earned M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in economics from Princeton University, where she was a National Science Foundation Fellow.

Prior to being named president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, Dr. Mester had been executive vice president and director of research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, where she was the chief policy advisor, attended meetings of the Federal Open Market Committee, and oversaw the economists and analysts in the Research Department, as well as professionals in the Financial Statistics Department and the Payments Cards Center. She joined the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia in 1985 as an economist, becoming senior vice president and director of research in 2000, and executive vice president and director of research in 2010.

Dr. Mester is an adjunct professor of finance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and is a fellow at the Wharton Financial Institutions Center. She has also taught in the undergraduate finance and M.B.A. programs at Wharton and in the Ph.D. program in finance at New York University.

Her areas of research expertise and interest include the organizational structure and productive efficiency of financial institutions, financial intermediation and regulation, agency problems in credit markets, credit card pricing, central bank governance, and inflation. Dr. Mester has published numerous articles in refereed academic and professional journals on a variety of topics including economics, central banking, and financial issues. In addition, Dr. Mester is a management committee member of the International Journal of Central Banking and co-editor of the Journal of Financial Services Research; and is an associate editor of several other academic journals.

Dr. Mester is a director of the Greater Cleveland Partnership, a trustee of the Cleveland Clinic, a trustee of the Musical Arts Association (Cleveland Orchestra), a director of the Council for Economic Education, a founding director of the Financial Intermediation Research Society, and a member of the advisory board of the Financial Intermediation Network of European Studies (FINEST). She is a member of the American Economic Association, the American Finance Association, the Econometric Society, and the Financial Management Association International.

Evelyn Magas is a Senior Vice President and CIO at Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and is based in Ohio. She has worked as Assistant Vice President at Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and Banking Supervisor, Operational Risk at Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. Evelyn attended The University of Toledo between 1980 and 1985.

Michael Beedles is a Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and is based in Ohio. He has worked as VP Finance - Global Controller at Kalibrate, Controller at Things Remembered, and Senior Manager at Arthur Andersen LLP. Michael attended University of Cincinnati.

Gregory L. Stefani is first vice president and chief operating officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. Appointed to his current position in 2011, Mr. Stefani is the second-ranking official of the Cleveland Reserve Bank and is responsible for overseeing a broad range of services to financial institutions, the US Treasury, and other stakeholders; maintaining a strong control environment and risk management program; and ensuring the Bank has leadership strength, succession planning, and a diverse workforce.

Mr. Stefani currently chairs the Federal Reserve System’s Risk Management Committee and is a former chair and current member of the Federal Reserve System’s Conference of First Vice Presidents.

Prior to assuming his current position, Mr. Stefani was senior vice president and chief financial officer, leading shared services, including finance, strategic and performance management, risk management, information technology, and information security. During Mr. Stefani’s more than 35-year tenure with the Bank, he has held positions of increasing responsibility within the Supervision and Regulation, Credit Risk Management, Policy and Strategic Analysis, and Statistics and Analysis Departments.

An active community member, Mr. Stefani serves as a trustee or board member on several regional organizations, including United Way of Greater Cleveland, the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, and the Cleveland Public Library Foundation. He is chair of the finance committee with the United Way of Greater Cleveland, chair of the audit committee at the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, chair of the finance committee at the Cleveland Public Library Foundation, and a member of the audit committee of the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority. In addition, Mr. Stefani is a sustaining member of the leadership council of the College of Business at Bowling Green State University. Previously, he served as president of the board of directors at University Settlement, Inc., and was a member of the Greater Cleveland Partnership's Equity and Inclusion Board. In 2010, he completed Leadership Cleveland, a program designed to build leadership resources within the Greater Cleveland community.

A native of New Philadelphia, Ohio, Mr. Stefani earned a BS in business administration and finance and an MBA from Bowling Green State University. He is also a graduate of the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program and the Graduate School of Banking at Colorado.

Works at Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland as Law Enforcement. Worked at CIty of Cincinnati - City of Middletown. Lived in Cincinnati.

Benjamin Davis is a Law Enforcement Chief at Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and is based in Ohio. He has worked as Training/Technical Lieutenant at Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. Benjamin attended American Military University between 2008 and 2012.