Cleveland Fed Announces Appointments to Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh Boards and Federal Advisory Council

The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland announced the following appointments and elections to its main office and branch boards of directors and to the Federal Advisory Council, effective January 1, 2015.

Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland

Christopher M. Connor, chairman and chief executive officer, The Sherwin-Williams Company, Cleveland, Ohio, was appointed chairman of the board for 2015. Connor has served as a director since 2011 and as deputy chairman since 2013.

John P. Surma, retired chairman and chief executive officer, United States Steel Corporation, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was reappointed to a second term as a director, and was appointed deputy chairman of the board for 2015. Surma has served as a director since 2013.

Charles H. Brown, vice president and secretary, Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing, North America, Erlanger, Kentucky, was elected a director.  Brown has served as a director of the Cincinnati Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland since 2013 and chaired the branch board in 2014.

Todd Mason, president and chief executive officer, First National Bank of Pandora, Pandora, Ohio, was reelected to a second term as a director.

Cincinnati Branch

Valarie L. Sheppard, senior vice president, comptroller and treasurer, The Procter & Gamble Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, was appointed chairman of the board of the Cincinnati Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland for 2015. Sheppard has served as a director since 2014.

Deborah A. Feldman, president and chief executive officer, Dayton Children’s Hospital, Dayton, Ohio, was reappointed to a second term as a director.

Amos L. Otis, founder, president and chief executive officer, SoBran, Inc., Dayton, Ohio, was reappointed to a second term as a director.

Dwight E. Smith, president and chief executive officer, Sophisticated Systems, Inc., Columbus, Ohio, was appointed as a director.

Pittsburgh Branch

Dawne S. Hickton, vice chair, president, and chief executive officer, RTI International Metals, Inc., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was reappointed chairman of the board of the Pittsburgh Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland for 2015. Hickton has served as a director since 2013 and chairman since 2014.

Robert I. Glimcher, president, Glimcher Group, Inc., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was appointed as a director.

Charles L. Hammel III, president, PITT OHIO, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was reappointed to a second term as a director.

Federal Advisory Council

Paul G. Greig, chairman, president, and chief executive officer, FirstMerit Corporation, Akron, Ohio, was reappointed to a one-year term as the Fourth Federal Reserve District's representative on the Federal Advisory Council. Greig served as a director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland from 2011 to 2013.

The Federal Advisory Council is composed of representatives of the banking industry from each of the 12 Federal Reserve Districts. The Council consults with and advises the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System on general business conditions and issues related to the financial services industry.

Reserve Bank Directors

Each Reserve Bank's main office has a nine-member board of directors. Three directors are elected by and representative of the member banks in each Federal Reserve District. The other six directors represent the general public, with due, but not exclusive, consideration to the interests of agriculture, commerce, industry, services, labor, and consumers. Of the six, three are elected by member banks and three are appointed by the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors in Washington, D.C.

Main office directors' responsibilities include making recommendations to the Board of Governors regarding the Federal Reserve's discount rate on primary credit; providing information about regional business conditions; and overseeing the Bank's budget and finances.

Each Reserve Bank branch has a five- or seven-member board of directors whose members provide input regarding local business conditions and their respective industries. They also help to identify opportunities that connect the Federal Reserve to the general public.

For a complete list of the members of the boards of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and its branches, click here.

Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland

The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland is one of 12 regional Reserve Banks that along with the Board of Governors in Washington DC comprise the Federal Reserve System. Part of the US central bank, the Cleveland Fed participates in the formulation of our nation’s monetary policy, supervises banking organizations, provides payment and other services to financial institutions and to the US Treasury, and performs many activities that support Federal Reserve operations System-wide. In addition, the Bank supports the well-being of communities across the Fourth Federal Reserve District through a wide array of research, outreach, and educational activities.

The Cleveland Fed, with branches in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, serves an area that comprises Ohio, western Pennsylvania, eastern Kentucky, and the northern panhandle of West Virginia.

Media contact

Doug Campbell, doug.campbell@clev.frb.org, 513.455.4479