About Al Broaddus :

Financial and Economics Expert; Former President of the Federal Reserve, Richmond, Virginia; Regular TV appearances on Bloomberg Television and CNBC

When Al Broaddus attended Washington and Lee University in the late 1950s, he developed strong interests in economics and running. Forty years later, the retired president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond runs two or three times a week when his schedule allows and even runs in an occasional weekend race. He is just as passionate about economics.

A political science major with an emphasis on international affairs, Broaddus won a Fulbright Fellowship and studied in France for a year, earning a graduate degree from the Center for Advanced European Studies at the University of Strasbourg. "I was working on the common market from a political vantage point," he explains, "but I became increasingly interested in the economics of it and decided to switch my graduate training."  He would go on to receive his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in economics from Indiana University in 1970 and 1972, respectively.  He received honorary doctor of law degrees from Washington and Lee in 1993 and Hampden-Sydney College in 2004, and a Distinguished Alumnus Award from Indiana in 1996. 

Broaddus' journey to the Richmond Fed began in 1964. Following his year in France and a tour of duty with the U.S. Army, he worked for the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and took catch-up economics courses at Georgetown University. Although the classes prepared him for graduate study and the job paid for tuition, Broaddus says his tenure with the DIA was important for another reason - he met his wife Margaret at the agency.

When Broaddus assumed the Bank's leadership, he confronted the challenge of change within the banking industry, which the Fed Banks participate in regulating. Banking consolidation has created several huge national banking organizations, two of which- Bank of America and Wachovia- are headquartered in the Richmond Fed District.  Topping Broaddus' list of responsibilities, however, was monetary policy. "Like other Fed presidents, I attended all Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meetings and advocated a policy position whether I was a voting member at the time or not," he says. "Monetary policy is a major Fed responsibility; it has a big impact on the performance of the economy and the country's welfare."

Mr. Broaddus retired from the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond in 2004, where he had served as president from 1993 to 2004.  In this role he served as a member of the Federal Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve System.  Prior to his term as president, he held a variety of positions in his 34-year career with the Bank, including director of research.  He is currently a member of the Economic Advisory Panel of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
   
Mr. Broaddus is currently a director of Albemarle Corporation, Faison Enterprises, Inc., Markel Corporation, Owens and Minor, Inc., and T. Rowe Price Group.  He is also a member of the board of visitors of Virginia Commonwealth University.  Active in civic work in Richmond, Mr. Broaddus is a member of the boards of directors of trustees of the American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar, Venture Richmond, and the Virginia Council on Economic Education.  He is also a member of the advisory board of the Massey Cancer Center at the VCU Medical Center. He is a past trustee of the Virginia Historical Society and the Richmond Memorial Health Foundation, and a former chairman of the board of United Way of Greater Richmond.  He has been interviewed a number of times on Bloomberg Television and CNBC.