Alberto Musalem

Musalem was born in Bogotá, Colombia, lived in Brazil and Argentina, and later moved to the United States and graduated from Maryland’s public schools. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics at LSE and a Ph.D. in economics at the University of Pennsylvania.⁠[2]

Early in his career, he was an IMF economist. During the emerging-market crises of the late 1990s, he worked with national authorities and IMF teams on monetary policy, inflation targeting, fiscal responsibility rules and banking systems.⁠[3]

From 2000 to 2013, Musalem was a managing director, partner and global head of research at Tudor Investment. He served on management, capital-allocation and strategy committees and worked with portfolio managers across asset classes.⁠[4]

From 2014 to 2017, he was New York Fed Executive Vice President and Senior Advisor to its President. He led the Emerging Markets and International Affairs and Integrated Policy Analysis groups, served on the Management Committee, and represented the bank on the BIS Committee on the Global Financial System.⁠[4]

In December 2014, the New York Fed announced that Musalem would lead its new Integrated Policy Analysis Group from January 2015. Replacing the Emerging Markets and International Affairs Group, it combined insights from supervision, markets, risk and research.⁠[5]

Speaking to the Institute of International Bankers on June 24, he argued that the Fed’s domestic responsibilities coexist with international spillovers and feedback effects. He emphasized clear communication and cautioned that anti-money-laundering enforcement should account for unintended loss of correspondent-banking access by compliant clients.⁠[6]

In 2018, he cofounded quantitative investment-technology company Evince Asset Management LP. He served as CEO and co-Chief Investment Officer from 2018 to 2022, overseeing business and investment strategy and product development.⁠[4]

From 2021 to 2024, he was a Freddie Mac director, serving on its Risk, Operations and Technology, and Compensation and Human Capital committees.⁠[1]

From 2022 to 2024, he was a Man Group director, serving on its Audit and Risk, Remuneration, and Nominations committees.⁠[1]

On January 4, the St. Louis Fed announced Musalem’s appointment. Six non-banking directors conducted a national search and interviews, unanimously selecting him subject to Board of Governors approval. He was to leave his corporate directorships and Georgetown teaching position before taking office.⁠[3]

On April 2, Musalem became the St. Louis Fed’s 13th President and CEO, succeeding James Bullard after Kathy O’Neill’s interim leadership. His initial term ran through February 28, 2026. He held a rotating FOMC voting seat in 2025.⁠[2][7]

The December 10 FOMC statement records Musalem voting for a 25-basis-point reduction to a 3.50%–3.75% target range. The decision followed increased downside employment risks. He was not among the meeting’s three dissenters.⁠[8]

On December 11, 2025, the Board of Governors announced Reserve Bank leadership reappointments, including Musalem’s. The new five-year term began March 1, 2026, following regional board assessments and the Board of Governors’ concurrence.⁠[9]

In São Paulo on August 6, Musalem acknowledged that interest rates can affect innovation and future productivity, but opposed tolerating higher inflation for uncertain AI gains. He argued that this could damage credibility: central banks should provide price stability, while fiscal and regulatory policies are better suited to fostering productivity.⁠[10]

At LSE on September 29, he advocated explaining how policy responds to economic information through scenarios and corresponding responses. He considered roughly 18 months a reasonable assessment horizon and linked clear frameworks to transmission, expectations and accountability. This was his proposal, not a promised path for future meetings.⁠[11]

At Bloomberg’s New York fixed-income event on October 8, Musalem told Michael McKee that returning inflation to 2% in roughly 18 months would require further tightening over six to nine months. He explicitly kept an open mind about the October 28 meeting.⁠[12][13]

In the same interview, he linked rate pressure to large technology-company and government borrowing, supported separating debt management from monetary policy, and described financial conditions as still accommodative despite orderly tightening. He was monitoring stress in lower-rated credit.⁠[13]

As St. Louis Fed President, he participates in policy discussions and oversees Eighth District research, supervision and public-service functions. He does not hold a rotating voting seat in 2026, but all Reserve Bank presidents attend FOMC meetings and express policy views.⁠[1][7]

Musalem previously taught finance at Georgetown and international financial markets at Johns Hopkins SAIS. He was Chair and a director of education nonprofit School the World and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Economic Club of New York.⁠[1]

His public professional posts describe visits to community colleges, agricultural organizations, logistics businesses and regional civic leaders. He connects these discussions to understanding local employment, prices and investment. Such observations inform regional policy discussions but are not nationally representative statistical surveys.⁠[14]