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James B. Bullard , President and Chief Executive Officer, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Robert A. Hopkins, Vice President and Senior Branch Executive, Little Rock Branch
Maria Gerwing Hampton, Vice President and Senior Branch Executive, Louisville Branch
Martha Perine Beard, Vice President and Senior Branch Executive, Memphis Branch

James B. Bullard President and Chief Executive Officer Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

James B. Bullard took office as president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis on April 1, 2008. He directs the activities of the Bank’s head office in St. Louis as well as its three branches in Little Rock, Ark., Louisville, Ky. and Memphis, Tenn. In addition, he represents the Bank on the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the Federal Reserve’s chief monetary policymaking body.

The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, one of 12 regional Reserve banks, along with the Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., constitute the Federal Reserve System. As the nation’s central bank, the Fed is responsible for conducting monetary policy, supervising banks and operating the nation’s payment system.

Mr. Bullard joined the Research division of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis in 1990, and held increasingly responsible positions in the division. Prior to being appointed president, he was deputy director of research for monetary analysis.

A native of Forest Lake, Minn., Mr. Bullard holds a Bachelor of Science degree in quantitative methods and information systems and economics from St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud, Minn., and a doctorate in economics from Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind.

Mr. Bullard has written numerous scholarly papers published in professional journals and has been a peer reviewer for over two dozen periodicals or institutions. He has participated in over 150 conferences, symposia or lectures sponsored by foreign central banks, academic institutions and monetary policy groups around the world.

Mr. Bullard enjoys bicycling and tennis. He is married to Jane Callahan; they have two daughters.

Curriculum Vitae (PDF 203KB) | President Bullard's web page

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Robert A. Hopkins Vice President and Senior Branch Executive Little Rock Branch Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Robert Hopkins is vice president and senior branch executive of the Little Rock Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Branch activities include conducting regional economic research and gathering monetary policy input from business leaders across Arkansas, sponsoring and hosting community development seminars, and providing economic education.

Mr. Hopkins joined the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis in 1985 following a brief stint with the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. He has held a variety of managerial positions at the Fed's offices in St. Louis and Memphis. He was appointed to his current position, senior officer at the Little Rock Branch, in 1995.

Mr. Hopkins currently serves on the following boards: Heart of Arkansas United Way, Junior Achievement of Arkansas Inc., YMCA of Metropolitan Little Rock, the Arkansas Council on Economic Education and the Center for Financial Training. He is a member of the Downtown Little Rock Rotary Club and is actively involved with American Legion Baseball.

Mr. Hopkins received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from William Jewell College in Liberty, Mo., and is a graduate of the Barret School of Banking, Memphis, Tenn. He and his wife, Angie, live in Maumelle, Ark., and have four sons.

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Maria Gerwing Hampton Vice President and Senior Branch Executive Louisville Branch Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Maria Gerwing Hampton is the vice president and senior branch executive of the Louisville Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, which includes southern Indiana and western Kentucky. Branch activities include sponsoring and hosting community-development seminars, providing economic education, conducting regional economic research and gathering monetary-policy input from business leaders within the local community.

Before joining the Fed in 2005, Ms. Hampton was president of the Housing Partnership Inc., a nonprofit corporation focused on creating affordable housing in the Louisville metropolitan area. She also was employed at Bank One Kentucky (formerly Liberty National Bank) for 26 years as an executive in the areas of retail banking, operations, marketing and strategic planning.

Ms. Hampton currently serves on the following boards: Norton Healthcare Board of Trustees, Jefferson Riverport Authority (chair elect), Gilda's Club Louisville, and the Kentucky Council on Economic Education (chair). She is a member of Leadership Louisville, Rotary Club of Louisville (chair of Rotary Leadership Fellows) and the Consensus Forecasting Group for the state of Kentucky.

Ms. Hampton graduated from Sacred Heart Academy in Louisville and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Spring Hill College, Mobile, Ala. She also has attended graduate programs at Darden and Harvard colleges. She is married to John Weeks Hampton and has a daughter, Gretchen Gerwing.

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Martha Perine Beard Vice President and Senior Branch Executive Memphis Branch Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Martha Perine Beard is vice president and senior branch executive of the Memphis Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, which includes western Tennessee, northern Mississippi and eastern Arkansas. Branch activities include sponsoring and hosting community-development seminars, providing economic education, conducting regional economic research and gathering monetary-policy input from business leaders within the local community.

Mrs. Beard joined the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis in 1971 as a management trainee and has served in a number of management and official positions during her Fed career. She was promoted to assistant vice president in 1978 and was named a vice president in 1981. Mrs. Beard transferred to the Memphis Branch in 1997.

Mrs. Beard is active in Memphis business and civic organizations and currently serves on several boards in Memphis including Memphis Tomorrow, Memphis Regional Chamber, United Way of the Mid South, Better Business Bureau of the Mid South, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the Economic Club of Memphis. Mrs. Beard was a member of the 1998 class of Leadership Memphis.

Mrs. Beard has been profiled in the Commercial Appeal, Memphis Business Journal and Grace Magazine.

A native of Mobile, Ala., Mrs. Beard holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in business and finance from Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta and a master's degree in economics from Washington University in St. Louis. Mrs. Beard is married and the mother of three children.

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