Barkin “has unique insights on
many industries that drive our nation’s economy and employ millions of Americans — as well as a well-informed perspective on issues facing the Federal Reserve and our nation,” Margaret Lewis, the chair of the Richmond Fed’s board of directors, said in a statement in announcing his appointment in December. The appointment disappointed
vocal Fed critics who want more diver- sity in its leadership. In June, Raphael W. Bostic will become the first African- American bank president in the Federal Reserve’s history as head of Atlanta Fed. Two women and an American of Indian descent currently lead three other Fed banks, according to the Wall Street Journal. Since taking the job, Barkin has
toured the Richmond Fed’s Fifth Dis- trict, which serves Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, the District of Columbia and most of West Virginia. Much of the area was in his service territory at McKinsey. What he has found is a regional
economy with many contrasts. “When you drive through small towns, you just don’t see jobs being created the way you do when you drive through Richmond,” he says. Barkin believes that the Richmond
Fed can play a role in improving local economies. “One of the things we have the ability to do here, which I’m really interested in, is to bring our research into the communities that we serve,” he says. “In my time in Atlanta, I spent a lot of time in civic efforts, involved in building the city. I have a lot of passion for that.” In Atlanta, Barkin served on the
executive committee of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. He remains a member of the Emory Univer- sity board of trustees. An avid golfer and a sports fan,
Barkin serves on the executive board of the United States Golf Association and roots for the Atlanta Braves and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Barkin and his wife, Robyn, have
a 21-year-old son who is in college and
an 18-year-old daughter who is a high- school senior. He is commuting to Rich- mond from Atlanta until his daughter finishes high school. In his spare time, “I love to read
mostly nonfiction and biographies,” Barkin says. “My daughter teases me that I’ve read a book on every president, and she wonders who really cares about Chester A. Arthur. But I do.” Virginia Business interviewed
Barkin at his Richmond office on March 27. The following is an edited transcript. (Barkin stresses that his views do not necessarily reflect the views of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, the Federal Open Market Committee or his colleagues.)
Virginia Business: What attracted you to this job? Barkin: I had a 30-year career in consulting at McKinsey and loved every minute of it. We have mandatory retire- ment at age 60, and I had signed the papers on my retirement … But I wasn’t in the mood to play a lot of golf or read a lot of books. I wanted to do something. At the same time, I had been on the board of the Atlanta Fed. While I was there, I fell in love with the institution ... I was an undergraduate in economics, so I was interested in the topic, and it’s an opportunity to give back … I got a call from a headhunter. I didn’t reach out, and I hadn’t really thought about it. Robyn and I talked about it … I entered the process and was lucky enough to be offered the job.
VB: What do you know about the economy in the Fifth District? Barkin: I’m very committed to being out in the district. While I’ve been here for two and half months, I’ve already been to Charleston, Columbia, Charlotte, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Raleigh, Durham, Norfolk, Richmond, Northern Virginia, D.C. and Balti- more… I’ve been meeting with various business, civic and community leaders … I’m trying to get an angle on where we are and how we’re doing … It’s an interesting district. The cities are very different. Baltimore and Charleston
www.VirginiaBusiness.com
couldn’t be more different. Charlotte is actually more like Atlanta than a town like Richmond … While Northern Vir- ginia isn’t a city, it’s probably the biggest economy in the district. The rural-urban [contrast] is an interesting topic that I’m digging into. I described to you eight or 10 cities, but in between those cities are a lot of folks, and honestly the employ- ment performance, the labor participa- tion of folks in the rural areas, is a lot different than it is in the city areas.
VB: Now tell me about your time with the Atlanta Fed. Did that prepare you for this job? Barkin: First of all, I learned that the people in the Fed are really talented and committed and wake up every morning trying to do the right thing. I never worked in a governmentish agency before, and so getting the chance to learn that was a big confidence builder. It reawakened, for me, an interest in economics I had since I was in school ... I had followed it and read about it, but I hadn’t been immersed in it … For a guy like me, who practiced economics in an amateur fashion, to be able to see people practice in a professional fashion was really very exciting. To that end, I have a big responsibility as a member of the FOMC, and [Richmond Fed econo- mists] have been working very hard, and I’ve been working very hard, to make sure that I can deliver for the people and for this bank the perspectives that I think I was hired to do. I understood the organization and understood the system, but it would be way too arrogant to say I was prepared to deliver on monetary policy the way I expect myself to. That’s what I’ve been working on.
VB: As you know, there were some critics [who say] there ought to be more diversity in the high positions at the Fed. What are your thoughts about that? Barkin: I think we ought to have more diversity at the Fed and, frankly, every- where. I can’t speak to my own selection, but what I will say is that … the more different views you can bring into a problem, the better. It’s not the kind
VIRGINIA BUSINESS 21
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80
