2014 STARS Hall of Fame

Dr. John C. Williams

John C. Williams took office as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco on March 1, 2011. In this role, he serves on the Federal Open Market Committee, bringing the Fed’s Twelfth District’s perspective to monetary policy discussions in Washington.

Dr. Williams was previously the executive vice president and director of research for the San Francisco bank, which he joined in 2002. He began his career in 1994 as an economist at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, following the completion of his Ph.D. in Economics at Stanford University.

Dr. Williams’ research focuses on topics including: monetary policy under uncertainty; innovation; productivity, and business cycles. He has collaborated with economists from throughout the country and across the globe to examine economic and policy issues from different perspectives, and has published numerous articles in leading research journals. Dr. Williams currently serves as the managing editor of the International Journal of Central Banking.

Previously, he served as associate editor of the American Economic Review. Additionally, he served as senior economist at the White House Council of Economic Advisers and as a lecturer at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. Prior to completing his doctorate at Stanford, he earned a Master’s of Science with distinction in economics from the London School of Economics in 1989, and an A.B. with high distinction from the University of California at Berkeley in 1984.

When asked about the importance of education, Dr. Williams shared "The most fundamental tool in achieving prosperity is education.  Without a means to educate the public—consistently, equally, universally—no nation can truly succeed. On a personal level, I’ve seen the way education opens up worlds of opportunity.  Research convincingly proves that investments in education have huge economic returns.  Indeed, in today’s knowledge economy, education is crucial to economic success, both for individuals and the economy as a whole."

Dr. Williams, 51, is a native of Sacramento, California and graduate of Encina High School. He is married with two teenage sons and resides in the San Francisco Bay Area.