For immediate release: Jan. 18, 2005
Lee M. Thomas, president and chief operating officer of Georgia-Pacific Corp., has been elected to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s board of directors. James F. Beall, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Farmers & Merchants Bank, and Egbert L. J. Perry, chairman and chief executive officer of The Integral Group LLC, were re-elected to three-year terms on the Atlanta Fed’s board of directors. Thomas’, Beall’s and Perry’s terms run from Jan. 1, 2005, to Dec. 31, 2007. In addition, Fred L. Green III, vice chairman of Synovus Financial Corp., was appointed to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors’ Federal Advisory Council. Green’s term began Jan. 1, 2005, and ends Dec. 31, 2005.
In his capacity as president and chief operating officer, Thomas oversees Georgia-Pacific’s North American and European consumer products, pulp and paper, packaging and building products businesses. Also reporting to Thomas are the company’s wood and fiber procurement group and the corporate staff functions of information technology, environmental affairs, government affairs, corporate services and strategic sourcing. He joined Georgia-Pacific in 1993 as senior vice president of environmental and government affairs. He has also served as chairman and chief executive officer of Law Companies Environmental Group Inc., administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, executive deputy director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and director of the Division of Public Safety Programs – Office of the Governor of South Carolina.
Thomas serves on the boards of Airgas Inc., Resolve Inc., Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority, National Merit Scholarship Corp. and the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. He is chairman of the University of South Carolina School of the Environment Advisory Board and a member of the National Academy of Public Administration.
Thomas received a bachelor’s degree from the University of the South and a M.Ed. from the University of South Carolina. In 2001 he received the Environmental Law Institute Award and the National Conference for Community Justice National Brotherhood Award in 2000.
Beall has been chairman of the board and president of Farmers & Merchants Bank since 1993, and he has 41 years of banking experience. Beall is a past president of the Alabama Bankers Association and past treasurer of the American Bankers Association. Beall earned a bachelor’s degree in commerce and business administration from the University of Alabama and attended the School of Banking of the South at Louisiana State University.
Perry is chairman and chief executive officer of The Integral Group LLC, which he founded in 1992 following a distinguished career with developers based in Washington, D.C., and Atlanta. He is active in a number of civic organizations including Atlanta Life Financial Group and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Perry is an honors graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, having earned bachelor and master of science degrees in civil engineering from the University’s Towne School and an M.B.A. in finance and accounting from the university’s Wharton School.
Green joined Synovus in 1995 when Synovus acquired National Bank of South Carolina (NBSC). He served as chairman, president and chief executive officer of NBSC for six years prior to being named to his current position in 2003. He is responsible for the management of all banking and mortgage activities for the Synovus family of companies. Green currently serves on the boards of the University of South Carolina Business Partnership Foundation and the University of South Carolina Educational Foundation. He is a former member of the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond and also served as its Federal Advisory Council representative. Green received his bachelor’s degree in finance and M.B.A. from the University of South Carolina.
Each of the nation’s 12 Federal Reserve Banks has a nine-member board of directors. Three Class A directors represent national and state-chartered banks that are members of the Federal Reserve System. Three Class B directors are elected by these banks but represent commerce, industry, agriculture, labor and consumers. Three Class C directors represent the same broad array of public interests but are appointed by the Board of Governors in Washington, D.C. Beall is a Class A director. Perry and Thomas are Class B directors.
The board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta oversees the management of the bank’s operations and recommends changes in the discount rate. Board members also contribute to the formulation of U.S. monetary policy through the economic information they provide the bank’s president.
The Federal Advisory Council (FAC) is composed of 12 representatives of the banking industry. The FAC meets several times a year to consult with and advise the Federal Reserve Board on all matters within the Board’s jurisdiction. Each Reserve Bank chooses one FAC member to represent its District, and the members elect their own officers.
###