Cathy Minehan

Who is Cathy Minehan?

Cathy E. Minehan was President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston one of 12 regional Reserve Banks that together with the Board of Governors in Washington D.C. form the Federal Reserve System.

She held this position from 1994 until her retirement in July 2007. Ms. Minehan also served as a member of the Federal Open Market Committee, the body responsible for U.S. monetary policy.

At the national level over her years of service, she has chaired the Financial Services Policy Committee, a body that oversees the provision of Reserve Bank payment services, and has played key roles in the System's planning for or response to Y2K, interstate banking legislation, and 9/11. She also led efforts related to clarifying the governance of shared national activities among Reserve Banks.

Ms. Minehan joined the Federal Reserve in 1968 as a bank examiner at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Through the years, she served various roles in Public Information and Accounting Control as well as Check Processing, Accounting, Funds and Securities. In 1991, she was appointed First Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, and in 1994, Ms. Minehan became the first woman to be appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Ms. Minehan has placed much focus on the structural economic development within New England, including community development, public education, and training. She serves on a variety of civic, professional and educational boards, including the School of Social Science Urban Affairs, & Public Policy at Northeastern University, the Boston Private Industry Council, Massachusetts General Hospital, the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley, the Massachusetts Business Roundtable, Jobs for Massachusetts, The New England Council, the Boston Economic Club, the University of Rochester, and the Carroll School of Management at Boston College.