Robert Steven Kaplan Explained

Robert Kaplan
Office:13th President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
Term Start:September 8, 2015
Term End:October 8, 2021
Predecessor:Richard W. Fisher
Successor:Meredith Black (Acting)
Birth Place:Prairie Village, Kansas, U.S.
Education:University of Kansas, Lawrence (BS)
Harvard University (MBA)

Robert Steven Kaplan (born 1957) served as the president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas from 2015 until 2021 and is a long-time Goldman Sachs executive, where he currently serves as vice chairman.

Prior to joining the Dallas Fed, Kaplan was a faculty member and senior associate dean at the Harvard Business School.

Kaplan is an active venture philanthropist through his work as co-chairman of the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation.[1] He serves as chairman of Project ALS, and is a board member of Harvard Medical School.[2] [3]

He is the author of three books on business leadership: What You Really Need To Lead, What You're Really Meant To Do, and What To Ask The Person In The Mirror. [4]

Career

Kaplan was vice chairman of the Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. He became a partner in 1990. He served as head of the Corporate Finance Department, head of Asia Pacific Investment Banking and head of the high-yield department in Investment Banking. He was a member of the management committee and was co-chairman of the partnership committee.[5]

Throughout his 23-year tenure at Goldman Sachs, Kaplan served in various leadership roles including head of Corporate Finance, head of Asia-Pacific Investment Banking, head of the high-yield department in Investment Banking, member of the Management Committee and co-chairman of the Partnership Committee.

In 2006, Kaplan joined the faculty of the Harvard Business School, as a Senior Associate Dean and the Martin Marshall Professor of Management Practice.

In August 2015, Kaplan was named to head the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas and represented the Eleventh Federal Reserve District on the Federal Open Market Committee, effective September 2015.[6] In this role he managed the 1,200 employees of the Dallas Fed office.

In early September 2021, a financial disclosure form showed that Kaplan conducted million-dollar trades of individual stocks, including Apple, Amazon and Delta Airlines and owned 32 individual stocks with 27 having a value of over $1 million, including those of five fossil-fuel companies.[7] [8] Kaplan's trading activities received widespread criticism for undermining confidence in the Federal Reserve.[9] [10] [11] All transactions occurred outside of the Federal Reserve's financial blackout period and were approved by the bank's compliance department. Sen. Elizabeth Warren has called on all Federal Reserve presidents to have a ban on the trading and ownership of individual stocks by regional senior officials. Due to the ethics concerns, Kaplan said he would sell his individual stocks.[12]

On September 27, 2021, Kaplan announced he would be retiring early from his position as the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, citing distractions over his stock market trades. His retirement took effect on October 8, 2021.[13] [14]

On January 22, 2024, The Federal Reserve Inspector General cleared Kaplan in their probe of 2020 trades concluding that the trades were allowed under the Fed's rules and didn't violate central bank policies or the law.[15]

In May 2024 it was announced that Kaplan would return to work at Goldman Sachs as a Vice Chairman, a role in which he would provide advice to Wall Street clients across global banking and markets, and asset and wealth management.[16]

Kaplan was also co-founder and chairman of Indaba Capital Management, LP, was chairman of the Investment Advisory Committee at Google, a trustee at the Ford Foundation and has served on the boards of Harvard Management Company, Bed Bath & Beyond, State Street Corporation and Heidrick & Struggles International.[17]

Personal life and education

Kaplan was born and raised in Prairie Village, Kansas,[6] and is a graduate of the University of Kansas in 1979 and Harvard Business School in 1983. He lives with his two sons in Dallas, Texas.

Kaplan is the chairman of Project A.L.S. and co-chairman of the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation.[18] He is also a member of the Advisory Council of the George W. Bush Institute, an Advisory Board Member of the Baker Institute, as well as a board member of Harvard Medical School, St. Mark's School of Texas and the Co-Founding Board Chair Emeritus of the TEAK Fellowship.[19]

Bibliography

Books

Journal articles

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Robert Steven Kaplan DRK Foundation Supporting passionate, high impact social enterprises . 2024-05-17 . en-US.
  2. Web site: 2020-12-01 . Who We Are - Project ALS . 2024-05-17 . en-US.
  3. Web site: Board of Fellows, 2017 . Harvard Medical School . 20 September 2021 . 2 August 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170802230103/https://hms.harvard.edu/about-hms/board-fellows . 2017-08-02 .
  4. Web site: Robert Steven Kaplan: books, biography, latest update . 2024-05-15 . Amazon.com . en-us.
  5. Web site: Robert Steven Kaplan Federal Reserve History . 2024-05-17 . www.federalreservehistory.org.
  6. Web site: Dallas Fed Names Former Goldman Sachs Banker Robert Steven Kaplan President . . 2015-08-17 . 2015-08-17 . Derby, Michael S..
  7. News: Derby. Michael S.. 2021-09-07. Dallas Fed's Robert Kaplan Was Active Buyer and Seller of Stocks Last Year. en-US. Wall Street Journal. 2022-01-11. 0099-9660.
  8. News: Fed Official Who Warned on Real Estate Traded REITs Actively. January 10, 2022. Bloomberg.com. 8 September 2021 .
  9. News: Smialek. Jeanna. 2021-09-27. Fed Officials Under Fire for 2020 Securities Trading Will Resign. en-US. The New York Times. 2022-01-11. 0362-4331.
  10. News: Marte. Jonnelle. Saphir. Ann. Schneider. Howard. 2021-09-27. Two Fed officials depart amid scrutiny over investment trades. en. Reuters. 2022-01-11.
  11. News: Siegel. Rachel. September 27, 2021. Two Fed officials announce retirements amid controversy over ethics and stock trading. The Washington Post.
  12. News: Franck. Thomas. 2021-09-16. Powell orders ethics review after Fed presidents disclosed multimillion-dollar investments. CNBC. 2021-09-16.
  13. News: Cox. Jeff. 2021-09-27. Dallas Fed President Kaplan to retire early on Oct. 8, citing trading disclosure 'distraction'. CNBC. 2021-09-27.
  14. Web site: Rob Kaplan to Retire as Dallas Fed President. 2021-11-12. www.dallasfed.org. en.
  15. News: Timiraos . Nick . Fed Review Clears Central Bank Officials of Violating Rules . 2024-06-05 . WSJ . en-US.
  16. News: Azhar . Saeed . May 7, 2024 . Goldman Sachs names former Dallas Fed chief Kaplan as vice chairman . live . May 7, 2024 . Reuters .
  17. Web site: Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas . 2024-05-21 . www.dallasfed.org . en.
  18. Web site: Innovates . Dallas . Murray . Lance . 2024-02-15 . Former Dallas Fed President/CEO Joins Star Mountain Capital as Senior Advisor . 2024-05-17 . Dallas Innovates . en-US.
  19. News: Harrison . David . Who Is Robert Steven Kaplan? The Next Dallas Fed President at a Glance . 2024-05-17 . WSJ . en-US.
  20. Web site: Robert Steven Kaplan. Harvard Business School Faculty. Harvard Business School. 31 July 2015.