New York Fed appoints insurance executive as second in command to Williams

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New York Fed appoints insurance executive as second in command to Williams

NEW YORK - The insurance industry executive has been hired by the New York Federal Reserve as second in command to President John Williams, a role in which there has been recent turnover at the most important of the Fed system's 12 regional banks.

Sushmita Shukla, currently a senior vice president and chief operating officer for International Accident Health at insurer Chubb Ltd, will become the New York Fed's first vice president and chief operating officer in March, the bank said on Thursday.

In 2021, the New York Fed had 2,400 employees and is responsible for interacting directly with financial markets and implementing monetary policy. Williams is the only regional bank president to be a permanent voter on the Federal Open Market Committee, the central bank's rate-setting body. Shukla will serve as an alternate for Williams on the FOMC.

Shukla came to the bank after a lot of changes in its top leadership ranks over the last few years. The last person to hold the COO role was Naureen Hassan, who left the bank in September after starting in March 2021. Before taking over the role in July 2015, the role was held by Michael Strine, who retired from the bank in early 2021 after taking over the role in July 2015.

Another critical role the Fed is looking to fill permanently is that of the System Open Market account manager, vacated by Lorie Logan when she was tapped as president of the Dallas Fed in May.