New York Fed Names Economist to New Post
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York said Thursday it named Simon Potter, an economist at the bank, to become the new leader of its markets group, a critical arm responsible for implementing the central bank's monetary policies.</br></br>The bank said Mr. Potter, currently co-head of the bank's research and statistics group, will take on the new job June 30, succeeding Brian Sack. Mr. Potter, a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from the U.K., is 51 years old. He has been at the bank for 14 years.</br></br>Mr. Potter holds bachelor's and master's degrees from Oxford University and a doctorate in economics from the University of Wisconsin. He has contributed to the New York Fed's efforts to present economics to a broader audience on its website economics blog. Recent writings tackled the prospects for the labor market and how the economics community failed to see the last recession coming.</br></br>In a news release, the New York Fed said Mr. Potter has contributed to the bank's monetary and economic-forecasting activities. He also played a "prominent role" in financial-stability issues, including the design of 2009 bank stress tests. That controversial exercise was considered by many central bankers as a turning point that helped restore confidence in the financial system.</br></br>Write to Michael S. Derby at