Jerome H. Powell

Jerome H. Powell took office as chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in February 2018. He was sworn in on May 23, 2022 for a second term as Chair ending May 15, 2026. 

Powell was born in Washington, D.C. He received a bachelor’s degree in politics from Princeton University in 1975 and earned a law degree from Georgetown University in 1979. While at Georgetown, he was editor-in-chief of the Georgetown Law Journal.

Powell served as an assistant secretary and as undersecretary of the Treasury under President George H.W. Bush. There, he was responsible for policy on financial institutions, the Treasury debt market, and related areas. Before joining the administration, he worked as a lawyer and investment banker in New York City.

Before his appointment to the Board of Governors, Powell was a visiting scholar at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, D.C., where he focused on federal and state fiscal issues. From 1997 through 2005, Powell was a partner at The Carlyle Group.

In addition to service on corporate boards, Powell has served on the boards of charitable and educational institutions, including the Bendheim Center for Finance at Princeton University and the Nature Conservancy of Washington, D.C., and Maryland.

Written by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and updated January 1, 2023. See disclaimer and update policy.