For immediate release: January 16, 2019
Myron A. Gray, former president of U.S. operations of United Parcel Service (UPS), has been appointed chair, and Elizabeth A. Smith, chairman and chief executive officer of Bloomin' Brands Inc., has been appointed deputy chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta's board of directors. Their one-year terms began January 1, 2019.
Gray is former president of U.S. operations for UPS with responsibility for all package delivery and logistics services for the world's largest economy. In July 2015, he assumed additional responsibility for transportation and UPS airlines. Gray was a member of the UPS management committee, the group of senior executives responsible for the day-to-day management of the company. In 2010, he led a strategic transformation of the company's U.S. small package business and has presided over programs to expand the company's logistics services, upgrade the technology in UPS operations, and improve the delivery fleet's fuel efficiency. Prior to being president of U.S. operations, Gray served as the president of the Americas Region, covering Canada, Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. In this role, he led the expansion of UPS express delivery and logistics services into growing markets such as Mexico and Brazil.
Gray serves on the board of the National Urban League and was the national chairman of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America for 2017–18.
Gray holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Memphis and has completed advanced management programs at INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France, and the Yale School of Business.
Smith is chairman and chief executive officer of Bloomin' Brands Inc. in Tampa, Florida, where she is responsible for developing and executing the company's long-term objectives, growth strategies, and initiatives for its portfolio of casual and fine-dining brands. Since joining Bloomin' Brands in 2009, Smith's leadership has been instrumental in the revitalization of the company's core brands, both domestically and internationally. She has almost 30 years' experience growing brands in consumer-facing industries. Prior to Bloomin' Brands, Smith was president of Avon Products Inc., where she successfully led the company's global marketing, supply chain, information technology, and sales business units. She also worked in several roles at Kraft Foods Inc., including group vice president and president of the U.S. beverages and grocery sectors, overseeing a total of $6 billion in sales.
Smith is a member of the boards of directors of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. and the U.S. Fund for UNICEF.
Smith received her bachelor's degree (Phi Beta Kappa) from the University of Virginia and her MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Each of the nation's 12 Federal Reserve Banks has a nine-member board of directors. Three Class A directors are generally bankers and are elected by national and state-chartered banks that are members of the Federal Reserve System. Three Class B directors are also 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 DC. The Reserve Bank's chair and deputy chair must be Class C 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 to the bank's president.