William J. McDonough

William J. McDonough served as the eighth president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for ten years--from July 19, 1993 to June 10, 2003. On June 11, 2003, he became the Chairman of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) at the Securities and Exchange Commission. The PCAOB is a not-for-profit organization created by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to protect investors in U.S. securities by ensuring that public company financial statements are audited according to the highest standards.

As president of the New York Fed, McDonough served as the vice chairman and a permanent member of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the group responsible for formulating the nation's monetary policy. Mr. McDonough also served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Bank for International Settlements and chairman of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision.

Mr. McDonough began his career at the New York Fed in January 1992 as executive vice president, head of the bank's markets group, and the manager of open market operations for the FOMC.

Mr. McDonough retired from First Chicago Corp. and its bank, First National Bank of Chicago, in 1989 after a 22-year career there. He was vice chairman of the board and a director of the bank holding company from 1986 until his retirement. Before joining the New York Fed, Mr. McDonough served as an advisor to a variety of domestic and international organizations.

Prior to his career with First Chicago, Mr. McDonough was with the U.S. State Department from 1961 to 1967 and the U.S. Navy from 1956 to 1961.

Mr. McDonough earned a master's degree in economics from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., in 1962, and a bachelor's degree, also in economics, from Holy Cross College in Worcester, Mass., in 1956.

See also:
Searching for a President
Thursday, June 5, 2003

SEC Unanimously Approves William J. McDonough as Chairman of Public Company Accounting Oversight Board offsite
SEC Press Release, Wednesday, May 21, 2003

President William J. McDonough Announces Intent to Retire
Thursday, January 16, 2003

June 2003
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