Jeffrey R. Schmid Named Tenth President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve of Kansas City

The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s Board of Directors announced recently that Jeffrey R. Schmid, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking Foundation at Southern Methodist University’s Cox School of Business, has been appointed President and CEO of the Kansas City Fed, beginning August 21, 2023.

Schmid has more than 40 years of banking and regulatory experience, including positions at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) and in leading the establishment of Mutual of Omaha Bank, where he served as Chairman and CEO. He is a native of Nebraska.

Schmid succeeds Esther L. George, who retired from the Bank on January 31, 2023, as required by mandatory Federal Reserve retirement rules for presidents.

“We are excited to welcome Jeff back to the Tenth District as the Kansas City Fed’s next leader,” said Maria Griego-Raby, President and Principal of Contract Associates in Albuquerque, NM, who, as Deputy Chair of the Bank’s Board of Directors, led the bank’s search committee. “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.”

Schmid began his career in 1981 as a field examiner based in the FDIC’s Kansas City, MO, office, where he spent eight years examining banking organizations and supported the oversight of a significant portfolio of troubled banks. In 1989, he was named President of American National Bank in Omaha, where he served until 2007 as the community bank grew from $500 million to $1.5 billion in assets.

From 2007 to 2019, Schmid served as the Chairman and CEO of Mutual of Omaha Bank, leading the formation of the institution, which grew to a workforce of nearly 2,000. After the bank was sold to CIT group in 2019, he became CEO of family-owned Susser Bank in Dallas. He then joined the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking Foundation at SMU as its president and CEO in 2021. The Foundation, housed at SMU’s Edwin L. Cox School of Business, has provided bank management programs, education and training for thousands of financial services professionals and government regulators, as well as education programs for commercial bank directors.

Schmid has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and is a graduate of the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking. He serves on the boards of Operation HOPE in Atlanta, GA, and Avenue Scholars in Omaha, NE, and is on the advisory board of the Cox School of Business at SMU.

“I am honored to be selected to serve the Tenth District in this role and for the opportunity to lead the Kansas City Fed’s talented workforce as it carries out its important public mission,” Schmid said. “It is a privilege to represent this region and to be able to build upon the long tradition of service that the bank is well known for.”

Schmid will complete the remainder of George’s five-year term as President, which began on March 1, 2021, and ends on February 28, 2026. At that time, he will be considered for reappointment under a process established by the Board of Governors. As President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Schmid will rotate with other regional Reserve Bank presidents as a voting member on the Federal Open Market Committee, which has the authority over U.S. monetary policy. He will participate in FOMC meetings upon his start date and will be a voting member of the committee in 2025.