2023: Neel Kashkari served in key U.S. Department of the Treasury jobs and ran for governor of California before becoming president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis in 2016. He’s been highly visible, establishing the Opportunity & Inclusive Growth Institute at the Fed and advocating for K-12 education reforms at the Minnesota Legislature. With persistently high inflation creating economic instability, Kashkari and peers are under pressure. Kashkari has supported multiple interest rate hikes, noting that in monetary policy, the Fed needs to do whatever is needed to push inflation down to 2%.
2020: There’s a reason why national business outlets like the Wall Street Journal and CNBC look to Neel Kashkari for smart, savvy—and at times contrarian—views on big-picture economic issues. We’re lucky to have him in Minneapolis. Kashkari started his career as an aerospace engineer. Just accept the facts: He’s smarter than most of us. Earlier this year, a writer with New York magazine argued that President Trump should have tapped Kashkari as Fed chairman. If the economy becomes increasingly shaky, Kashkari’s perspectives and insights will become increasingly important in 2020.