Goldman Sachs executive Beth Hammack to head Cleveland Fed

Beth Hammack, a Goldman Sachs executive and longtime finance industry leader, will lead the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland as its next president and CEO, the central bank district announced Wednesday.

Hammack will succeed Loretta Mester, who steps down June 30. She will officially become the 12th president of the Cleveland Fed on Aug. 21; First Vice President Mark Meder will serve as the interim president.

“It is a great privilege to serve the Fourth District, and the country, in fulfilling our mission of fostering a strong, stable economy in which all Americans have the opportunity to prosper,” Hammack said.

“I look forward to meeting the people who work and live in the Fourth District, both as their representative on the [Federal Open Market Committee] and as their neighbor. I cannot wait to lead the Bank’s talented team, who deliver every day on our important mission,” she added.

Hammack takes the mantle at a critical time for the central bank. The Cleveland Fed president will have a vote on the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), which will weigh in the coming months when and if to cut interest rates.

The FOMC hiked interest rates from near zero in March 2022 to a range of 5.25 percent to 5.5 percent last July, where they have held them at a 23-year high in each meeting since.

While Fed Chair Jerome Powell signaled last December that rate cuts were on the table in 2024, a slight uptick in inflation has kicked that timeline further into the year. A majority of interest rate traders don’t expect the first rate cuts to come until November, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

Hammack has worked in finance, capital markets and risk management for more than three decades, most recently as co-head of global financing at Goldman Sachs. She joined Goldman Sachs as an analyst in 1993 and became a partner and co-head of U.S. cash interest rates trading in 2010, according to her LinkedIn.

A Stanford University graduate, Hammack holds degrees in quantitative economics and history.

“Beth has a deep understanding of financial markets and the monetary policy transmission process, expertise in leading complex business lines, and a proven commitment to mission-focused work,” said Heidi Gartland, chair of the presidential search committee and the Cleveland Fed’s board of directors and chief government and community relations officer with University Hospitals.