Dallas Fed First Vice President Meredith Black to retire; search underway for successor

DALLAS—The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas today announced that First Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Meredith Black will retire at year end, and a search has been launched for a successor.

Black has served as the Dallas Fed’s first vice president since 2016 and has worked for the Bank for 38 years in a variety of important roles. Prior to being named first vice president, Black was senior vice president with responsibility for the Financial Management and Information Technology Groups.

“Meredith has been a trusted advisor and partner with me over the past five years. Her intellect, insight, excellent judgment and leadership skills have been invaluable to the Dallas Fed and to the Federal Reserve System,” said Dallas Fed President and CEO Robert S. Kaplan. “She has been a superb mentor and coach to numerous leaders at the Dallas Fed and across the System. I would like to thank Meredith for her extraordinary contributions over her career and for her commitment to our mission, our employees and the communities we serve.”

The first vice president reports directly to the Bank president and oversees the Bank’s daily operations, including its branches in Houston, San Antonio and El Paso. The first vice president also plays a key leadership role in numerous Federal Reserve System initiatives.

To fill the position of first vice president, a search committee of Dallas Fed board of directors has been organized, and the Bank has retained the executive search firm Spencer Stuart to assist in identifying a diverse pool of qualified candidates from within, as well as from outside the Federal Reserve System.

The search committee is composed of Bank CEO Robert S. Kaplan, as well as Dallas Fed board members Greg L. Armstrong, co-founder and retired chairman and CEO, Plains All American Pipeline, L.P.; Thomas J. Falk, retired chairman and CEO, Kimberly-Clark Corp.; Claudia Aguirre, president and CEO, BakerRipley; and Gerald B. Smith, chairman and CEO, Smith, Graham & Co. Investment Advisors, L.P.

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. The first vice president will be appointed by the Class B and Class C members of the Dallas Fed board, with approval of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

Candidate referrals and questions about the application process should be directed to Spencer Stuart at dallasfrb@spencerstuart.com.

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Media contact:
James Hoard
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
Phone: (214) 922-5307
Email: james.hoard@dal.frb.org