Roger Ferguson, potential Biden Treasury pick, to retire in 2021

Roger Ferguson Jr., president and CEO of asset manager TIAA, announced Tuesday that he will retire at the end of March amid speculation that he could be chosen to serve in President-elect Joe Biden’s administration.

In a Tuesday statement, Ferguson said he will retire from TIAA on March 31 so the company can choose a new CEO “who can continue, enhance and drive our strategy for the next decade and beyond.”

“It’s the responsible thing to do for this great company. I am eternally grateful to my colleagues for living our values these past 12 years and for the years to come,” said Ferguson, who has served as TIAA’s CEO since 2008.

Ferguson, one of the few and most prominent Black executives in the financial sector, is one of several candidates reportedly under consideration to serve as Biden’s Treasury secretary. 

He last served in government as the vice chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1999 to 2006 and anchored the central bank’s immediate response to Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks while then-Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan was in Europe.

Former President George W. Bush also considered Ferguson as a potential successor to Greenspan but opted to nominate Ben Bernanke instead. Ferguson was also among the rumored picks to succeed Bernanke until former President Obama tapped Janet Yellen, another potential Biden Treasury pick, for the chairmanship.

If nominated, Ferguson could be both a groundbreaking and potentially unifying choice for one of Biden’s first economic appointments. Ferguson would be the first Treasury secretary who is not a white man, and his experience in both the public and private sector could soothe concerns from Republicans, who currently control the Senate, that he would not be unduly burdensome on businesses.