Charles Evans Profile Photo

Charles Evans

WSB Exclusive Speaker

Economic and Financial Expert, Former President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago

Charles L. Evans is a 31-year veteran of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and an accomplished economic researcher focused on measuring the effects of monetary policy on US economic activity, inflation, and financial market prices. 

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Charles Evans'S SPEAKING FEE $40K - $70K

Charles Evans Profile Photo

Charlie’s contributions to dynamic modeling are widely cited and have been incorporated into central bank models around the world to assess policy effectiveness.

Charlie was the ninth president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago from 2007 to 2023. During this time, Charlie was recognized as a significant strategic thought leader on the Federal Open Market Committee. Prior to becoming president in 2007, he served as director of research and senior vice president, supervising the Chicago Fed’s research on monetary policy, banking, financial markets, and regional economic conditions. Before that, he was a vice president and senior economist responsible for the macroeconomics research group.

A long-time Federal Reserve executive, he chaired Federal Reserve System committees that oversaw strategic assessments of Federal Reserve Bank operations during the Covid-19 pandemic and investment activities to fund defined benefit and defined contribution retirement plans for over 20,000 employees. As an advisor and policymaker attending FOMC meetings since 1995, his policy experiences span a broad set of episodes unique in post-war economic history.

His continued advocacy for transparent communications and forward guidance facilitated the Committee’s adoption of the Evans rule in December 2012, more detailed Committee projections for future policy rates, and enhancements to the long-run strategy of the Committee for making monetary policy.

Featured Videos

Charles Evans Profile Photo
Charles Evans

Charles Evans on Global Economic Considerations for Interest Rate Hikes

Charles Evans Profile Photo
Charles Evans

Charles Evans on the Future of the US Workforce

Charles Evans Profile Photo
Charles Evans

Charles Evans: Is the National Debt a Threat to the Economy?

Charles Evans Profile Photo
Charles Evans

Charles Evans on the Causes of High Inflation

CHARLES EVANS’ SPEECH TOPICS

  • Heightened Global Volatility and the Strategic Challenges facing Central Banks and Advanced Economies

    As a throwback to the 1970s, high inflation emerged as a post-pandemic crisis and challenged advanced economies worldwide. The previous ten years of low inflation have given way to a much more volatile inflation and financial environment. Heightened geopolitical risks, less resilient global supply chains, aging demographics and high fiscal debt have altered the economic and financial landscape that monetary policymakers face. The long period of low interest rates following the Great Financial Crisis is clearly over, and central bankers and financial markets face a more uncertain period ahead with greater interest rate volatility.


    In this event, Charles Evans brings broad scholarly knowledge and practical expertise to discussions of how central bank policy responses may be strategically adjusted in ways that are both responsive to regular data developments but are also mindful of enhanced volatility and global risks to business enterprises and financial market analyses.

  • Assessing Economic Prospects for the U.S. Economy

    Charles Evans brings broad experience observing and analyzing unusual economic cycles from the Greenspan era to today. For more than 25 years, Evans has attended meetings of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), where Fed policymakers debated the implications of a vast array of volatile economic and financial developments. The breadth of events includes international crises involving the Mexican peso, emerging market Asian currencies, and the Russian debt default; the stock market’s so-called “irrational exuberance” and dot-com bubble; the housing bubble, Lehman brothers’ bankruptcy, and the Great Financial Crisis; and numerous longer-term changes influencing the trajectory of American enterprise following technology-induced productivity enhancements and the Covid-19 pandemic’s implications for the global supply structure.


    In this session, Evans brings his insights to assess the impact of a changing U.S. and international environment on financial and business enterprises of all sizes. With years of experience traveling around the Midwest and nation to speak to various business, financial, and community organizations, Evans can distill complex issues into more plain-spoken business and risk messaging for all audiences.

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