Dallas Fed First Vice President Helen E. Holcomb to retire; search underway for successor
For immediate release: June 1, 2016
DALLAS—The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas today announced that longtime First Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Helen E. Holcomb will retire by Nov. 30, 2016, her mandatory retirement date under Federal Reserve policy.
Holcomb has served as the Dallas Fed’s first vice president since April 1, 1996, and has worked for the Bank for almost 42 years in a variety of important roles.
The first vice president reports directly to the Bank president and oversees the Bank’s daily operations, including in its branches in Houston, San Antonio and El Paso. The first vice president also participates in numerous Federal Reserve System initiatives.
“Helen has been a superb leader at the Dallas Fed and across the entire Federal Reserve System,” said Dallas Fed President and CEO Rob Kaplan. “She embodies our commitment to excellence and serves as a role model for our employees at all levels. She joined the Bank right out of college and worked her way up the ranks, eventually serving as interim president twice during CEO vacancies. She represented the Dallas Fed at several Federal Open Market Committee meetings at which she briefed the Federal Reserve chairman and other FOMC members on economic conditions in the Eleventh District.
“The Dallas Fed and the entire Federal Reserve System have benefited greatly from her steady hand at the helm,” Kaplan said. “Her knowledge, skill, and insight will be sorely missed.”
Prior to being named first vice president, Holcomb held the position of senior vice president, with responsibility for financial planning and control, personnel services, public affairs and community affairs. She previously held other official positions at the Dallas Fed.
Holcomb also has served in a number of different capacities within the Federal Reserve System, including as a member of the Information Technology Oversight Committee, which sets strategic direction and policy for information technology for the Federal Reserve Banks.
The Dallas Fed’s board of directors has begun the process of selecting the next first vice president with the establishment of a search committee made up of the Bank’s Class B and C directors. The committee will conduct a thorough search of both external and internal candidates.
The Federal Reserve Act mandates that first vice presidents of Reserve Banks are to be appointed in the same manner and for the same term as Reserve Bank presidents.
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Media contact:
Alexander Johnson
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
Phone: (214) 922-5288
Email: alexander.johnson@dal.frb.org