New Board Governors Bies and Olson sworn in to office - Announcements - Brief Article

Federal Reserve Bulletin, Jan, 2002

Susan Schmidt Bies and Mark W. Olson took the oath of office as members of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System on Friday, December 7, 2001. The oath was administered by Chairman Alan Greenspan in the Chairman's office.

President Bush announced his intention to nominate Dr. Bies on June 8 and his intention to nominate Mr. Olson on July 10. The Senate confirmed them on December 6.

Dr. Bies was nominated to a vacant seat last held by Susan M. Phillips, whose term expired. Dr. Bies's term expires January 31, 2012.

Dr. Bies was born on May 5, 1947, in Buffalo, New York. She received a B.S. in education from the State College of New York at Buffalo in 1967 and an M.A. (1968) and a Ph.D. (1972), both in economics, from Northwestern University. Dr. Bies has served as a Fellow at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago (1969-70) and as a Fellow at the Northwestern University Center for Urban Affairs (1968-69).

Before becoming a member of the Board, Dr. Bies was the executive vice president for risk management and auditor at First Tennessee National Corporation, Memphis, Tennessee (1995-2001). From 1979 to 1995, she served in various other positions at First Tennessee, including executive vice president and chief financial officer, senior vice president and chief financial officer, senior vice president and treasurer, vice president for corporate development, tactical planning manager, and economist.

Before joining First Tennessee, Dr. Bies was associate professor of economics, Rhodes College, Memphis, Tennessee (1977-79); assistant professor of economics, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan (1972-77); and chief regional and banking structure economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (1970-72).

Dr. Bies has been active in leadership positions for various organizations, including the Emerging Issues Task Force of the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the Committee on Corporate Reporting of the Financial Executives Institute, the End Users of Derivatives Association, the American Bankers Association, and the Bank Administration Institute.

She has also served with numerous other business, professional, academic, civic, and charitable organizations, including the American Economic Association, Institute of Management Accountants, International Women's Forum, American Economic Association, Economic Association of Memphis, University of Memphis, Memphis Area Chamber of Commerce, Memphis Youth Initiative, and Memphis Partners. Dr. Bies is married and has two adult sons.

Mr. Olson was nominated to the seat vacated by the resignation of Alice M. Rivlin on July 16, 1999. The term expires January 31, 2010.

Mr. Olson was born March 17, 1943, in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. He received a B.A. in economics in 1965 from Saint Olaf College.

Before becoming a member of the Board, Mr. Olson served as staff director of the Securities Subcommittee of the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, U.S. Senate (2000-01). The Securities Subcommittee's legislative jurisdiction included the Securities and Exchange Commission, accounting policy issues, and the insurance industry. During Mr. Olson's tenure, the subcommittee held oversight hearings on implementation of key sections of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.

From 1988 to 1999, he served as a partner with Ernst & Young LLP and its predecessor, Arthur Young & Company. At Ernst and Young, he was national director of the firm's Regulatory Consulting Practice for the financial services industry. Mr. Olson also consulted on issues of management and board corporate governance, strategic planning, and management evaluation. In addition, Mr. Olson was selected to join a 1991-92 Treasury Department effort to assist Eastern European bankers in adapting to a free-market economy.

From 1976 to 1988, Mr. Olson was president and chief executive officer of Security State Bank, Fergus Falls, Minnesota. Mr. Olson's father had been the lead organizer in chartering Security State Bank in 1957. During his years at Security State Bank, Mr. Olson was also actively involved in public policy issues involving the banking industry. He served on the American Bankers Association board of directors and as chairman of the ABA Government Relations Council. In 1986, Mr. Olson, at age 43, became the youngest person ever elected as president of the American Bankers Association.

Mr. Olson served former Congressman Bill Frenzel (R-Minn.) as legislative assistant for banking issues (1971-72) and as director of his Minnesota district office (1974-76). Mr. Olson began his banking career in 1966 with First Bank System (now U.S. Bancorp) and was named an officer in 1969.

Mr. Olson has been a frequent author and speaker on the public policy aspects of financial services. He has testified before the Congress, and his articles have appeared in numerous industry publications.

Mr. Olson is married to Renee Korda and has two children, Ben and Stephanie.