Speeches

Jeffrey M. Lacker, President (2004-2017)

Lacker joined the Richmond Fed in 1989, after serving on the faculty of the Krannert School of Management at Purdue University. He was named director of research at the Bank in 1999. Lacker holds a doctorate in economics from the University of Wisconsin. He was born in Lexington, Ky., in 1955.

J. Alfred Broaddus Jr., President (1993-2004)

Broaddus was director of research for the Richmond Fed when he was named president. He had worked for more than two decades in the Bank’s research department, serving as assistant vice president and vice president before being named director. While at the Bank, Broaddus earned masters and doctorate degrees in economics. He was born in Richmond in 1939.

Robert P. Black, President (1973-1992)

Black joined the Richmond Fed after earning bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees in economics and worked as an economist for the Bank. Over the course of two decades, he served as assistant vice president, vice president and first vice president before being named president, a post he held for another two decades. With the exception of two years when he worked in business and as a college professor, Black spent his whole career at the Richmond Fed. He was born in Hickman, Ky., in 1927.

Aubrey N. Heflin, President (1968-1973)

Helfin was an attorney when he joined the Richmond Fed, having worked for a Richmond law firm. At the Fed, he served in several positions on the legal staff, including general counsel, before being named first vice president and then president. A native of Fredericksburg, Va., Helfin left the Fed for three years during World War II to serve in the U.S. Navy. He was born in 1912 and died in 1973.

Edward A. Wayne, President (1961-1968)

Wayne’s career in banking began at age 15 as a runner and included being a bookkeeper, teller and cashier, as well as serving as chief examiner for South Carolina’s Board of Bank Control. At the Richmond Fed, Wayne was an officer in examinations and public information, served temporarily as acting director of examinations for the Federal Reserve System and returned to Richmond to be first vice president and president. He was born in Eau Claire, S.C., in 1903 and died in 1990.

Hugh Leach, President (1936-1961)

Leach worked for the Richmond Fed for 40 years, starting as a clerk and then an auditor. He was selected to lead the organization of the Bank’s Charlotte office and served as its first manager. Later, he managed the Baltimore officer before returning to Richmond to become president. Prior to joining the Fed, Leach worked as a certified public accountant and bookkeeper. Leach was born in Richmond in 1894 and died in 1971.

George J. Seay, Governor (1914-1936)

Seay was the first chief executive of the Richmond Fed and the only one designated as “governor.” After a career in banking and insurance, and several years as a stock broker, Seay turned to writing about banking and currency reform. He presented a brief outlining the case for Richmond to become the home of a Federal Reserve Bank to the Reserve Bank Organization Committee. As governor, he participated during World War I in the conference that developed the Liberty Loan program. Seay, a native of Petersburg, Va., was born in 1862 and died in 1952.