Economist Austan Goolsbee Is Named to Lead the Chicago Fed

The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago said on Thursday that Austan D. Goolsbee will become its next president, taking a seat at the central bank’s policy-setting table as officials work to bring down the fastest inflation in decades.

Mr. Goolsbee, who was chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers during the Obama administration, has long been a faculty member at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. He has a doctorate in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and studied for his undergraduate degree at Yale.

He will replace Charles Evans, who has been in the role since 2007 and at the Chicago Fed since 1991 and is retiring.

The Chicago Fed district is made up of Iowa and most of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin. The Fed’s 12 presidents oversee large staffs of researchers and bank supervisors and vote on monetary policy on a rotating basis.

Mr. Goolsbee will vote on policy in 2023, meaning that he will be an important voice at the table as the Fed continues its effort to wrangle rapid inflation and tries to decide just how aggressive a policy response that will require.

“These have been challenging, unprecedented times for the economy,” Mr. Goolsbee said in the statement from the Chicago Fed announcing the decision. “The Bank has an important role to play in helping the District get through them and to thrive going forward.”

Mr. Goolsbee is expected to start on Jan. 9.