Biden Eyes Leaders With TIAA, Facebook And Google Ties For Economic Team

President-elect Joe Biden is weighing naming two of the highest-ranking Black leaders in finance to top roles in his administration — TIAA CEO Roger Ferguson to direct the National Economic Council and former American Express CEO Kenneth Chenault to a senior economic post, CNBC reported, citing unnamed sources.

Ferguson already has said he is stepping down from his position running TIAA, the big investment firm with historic ties to employees in the higher education and medical fields. He served as vice chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve and serves on the board of Google parent Alphabet.

Ferguson had been listed as a candidate for Treasury secretary, but the nomination instead went to former Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen.

Chenault is head of venture capital firm General Catalyst and serves on the board of Airbnb and Facebook.

CNBC stated that a Biden transition spokesman did not respond to a request for comment about the potential nominations and that Biden is expected to announce economic appointments soon.

Biden also is considering naming former Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) head and MIT professor Gary Gensler to serve as a deputy Treasury secretary, CNBC reported. He is part of Biden’s transition team and is helping to vet candidates for positions in the Federal Reserve system and the CFTC, according to CNBC.

Names for top posts are emerging amid intense scrutiny of Biden’ s picks from leaders in sectors such as financial services that are likely to face new scrutiny under a new president. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is among agencies being watched most closely, PYMNTS reported. Government officials also have shown interest in injecting the federal government directly into the credit reporting and instant payments spaces.