Loretta Mester

Loretta Mester served as President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland from 2014 to 2024. During her tenure, she was consistently identified as one of the more hawkish voices at the Federal Reserve, advocating for preemptive action to prevent inflation from becoming entrenched. As a FOMC member, she was known for thoughtful communication of her monetary policy views and for being one of the first voices in 2021 to express concern that the Fed's assessment of inflation as "transitory" might prove incorrect. Her decade-long tenure made her one of the more experienced regional Fed presidents when she retired in 2024. Before becoming president, she served as the Cleveland Fed's executive vice president and research director, producing substantial academic work on monetary policy transmission, inflation forecasting, and financial stability. Her research expertise made her a rigorous contributor to FOMC deliberations. The Cleveland Fed is home to the Center for Inflation Research, and Mester's leadership reinforced its prominence as a leading institution for inflation measurement and forecasting methodology. She was succeeded by Beth Hammack, who joined from Goldman Sachs, as president of the Cleveland Fed.