Fed's Kevin Warsh Restores 'Chairman' Title, Reversing 12-Year 'Chair' Precedent
Updated
Updated · CNBC · Jun 12
Fed's Kevin Warsh Restores 'Chairman' Title, Reversing 12-Year 'Chair' Precedent
3 articles · Updated · CNBC · Jun 12
Summary
The Federal Reserve website now identifies Kevin Warsh as "chairman," ending the 12-year run in which Janet Yellen and Jerome Powell used the gender-neutral "chair."
No law dictates the title, making the switch a matter of personal preference, though the Federal Reserve Act itself refers to the Board's leader as "chairman" and "vice chairman."
The change lands amid a broader U.S. political split over gender-neutral language: the House adopted rules replacing terms like "chairman" in 2021, while Republican lawmakers and many congressional websites still favor the older wording.
Corporate practice is also mixed—Bloomberg found 185 S&P 500 companies used gender-neutral titles in 2024, but major banks including JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley still used "chairmen."
Alicia Syrett of Chairs & Leads said she would not read much into Warsh's choice, framing it as an individual preference rather than a broader signal.