Veteran banker Jeffrey Schmid picked to lead Kansas City Fed

The Kansas City Federal Reserve is about to get a new leader as the inflation-fighting central bank plots its course ahead.

Jeffrey R. Schmid, with more than 40 years of experience as a regulator and banker, will take over Aug. 21 for Esther George, who retired earlier this year.

Most recently, Schmid has served as president and CEO of Southern Methodist University’s Cox School of Business, where he worked after holding positions at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Mutual of Omaha Bank, which he helped establish.

“Jeff’s perspective as a native Nebraskan, his broad experience in banking and his deep roots in our region will be an incredible asset to the Federal Reserve, both as a leader of the organization and in his role as a monetary policymaker,” said Maria Griego-Raby, president and principal of Contract Associates in Albuquerque, New Mexico. As deputy chair of the bank’s board of directors, she led the search for George’s successor.

The appointment comes after the Fed approved a series of 11 interest rate increases aimed at bringing down inflation that had been running at a 40-year high. George was long thought to be one of the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee’s more hawkish members in favoring tighter monetary policy.

Schmid will serve the remainder of George’s five-year term helming the Kansas City Fed, which will take him to Feb. 28, 2026.

Interestingly, he arrives at the Fed just before the Kansas City district hosts its annual Jackson Hole summit, which this year will run from Aug. 24-26. The retreat features a keynote address from the Fed chair and often is pivotal in laying out policy strategy.