Brian Sack, whom we have all grown to love and loathe, and whose mysterious Citadel trade tickets seemingly out of nowhere have prevented financial meltdowns on more than one occasion, may be leaving us next Friday, but that does not mean the Plunge Protection Team will remain headless. Meet Brian's replacement: Simon Potter, who before joining the NY Fed was... assistant professor of economics at UCLA, Johns Hopkins University, New York University and Princeton University and who " has written extensively on nonlinear dynamics over the business cycles. Recent topics have included forecasting the probability of recession, large panel forecasting models, modeling structural change and inflation expectations." So now we have a Keynesian economics professor with an expertise in "modeling inflation expectations" in charge of the S&P. Swell.
From the NY Fed [14]:
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York announced today that Simon M. Potter, executive vice president and co-head of the Research and Statistics Group, has been named the new head of the Markets Group by New York Fed President William C. Dudley. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) also selected Mr. Potter as Manager of the System Open Market Account (SOMA). Mr. Potter will begin his new roles on June 30, 2012. He succeeds Brian P. Sack, who steps down on June 29, 2012.
Mr. Potter’s selection comes after a comprehensive search process that considered a large slate of potential internal and external candidates with a wide range of experiences and backgrounds.
“Simon is a trusted colleague with deep expertise in macroeconomics, financial stability and financial markets, and a reputation for candor and objectivity. His analytical strength and practical experience will prove invaluable as he steps into this new role,” said Mr. Dudley.
Mr. Potter currently serves as director of economic research at the New York Fed. He is also the FOMC representative for the Research and Statistics Group, where he leads analytical work related to forecasting and monetary policy and leads FOMC briefings and preparation. Mr. Potter has played a prominent role in the New York Fed’s financial stability efforts, including contributing to the design of the 2009 U.S. bank stress tests and as a member of the international Macroeconomic Assessment Group that supported the Basel Committee’s work to strengthen bank capital standards. Mr. Potter was also a key contributor to the 2011 Financial Stability Oversight Council’s Annual Report on Financial Stability, its first annual report.
Mr. Potter, 51, has been at the New York Fed for 14 years. Prior to joining the Bank, Mr. Potter was assistant professor of economics at the University of California, Los Angeles. He holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from Oxford University, United Kingdom, and a doctorate in economics from the University of Wisconsin.
James J. McAndrews, executive vice president, will assume sole leadership of the Research and Statistics Group, and has been appointed associate economist of the FOMC.
And Simon's bio:
Simon M. Potter is an executive vice president, director of economic research and co-head of the Research and Statistics Group at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. He also serves as an associate economist for the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC).
Mr. Potter is responsible for constructing analytical tools for economic forecasting and monetary policy analysis, and leading FOMC briefings and preparation for the Bank president. Mr. Potter has played a prominent role in the New York Fed’s financial stability efforts, including contributing to the design of the Supervisory Capital Assessment Program and as a member of the Bank for International Settlements Macroeconomic Assessment Group that supported the Basel Committee’s work to strengthen bank capital standards. Mr. Potter also managed the team producing the first Financial Stability Oversight Council Annual Report on Financial Stability.
Before being named executive vice president in January 2010, Mr. Potter served as a senior vice president in the domestic research function. He joined the Bank in June 1998 as an economist and was named an officer of the New York Fed in January 2004. From April 2011 through July 2011, Mr. Potter worked at the Financial Stability Oversight Council.
Prior to joining the Bank, Mr. Potter was an assistant professor of economics at UCLA. He has also taught at Johns Hopkins University, New York University and Princeton University. His main research area is applied time series analysis using Bayesian methods. He has written extensively on nonlinear dynamics over the business cycles. Recent topics have included forecasting the probability of recession, large panel forecasting models, modeling structural change and inflation expectations.
Mr. Potter holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from Oxford University, United Kingdom, and a doctorate from the University of Wisconsin.