“Chipping Away” With Rob Kaplan, Former Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas

What a week! Following the prior two outstanding COBT guests this week, we end the week with our great friend and an inspiring leader, Rob Kaplan. Most recently, Rob served as the President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas from 2015 to 2021. Prior to the Fed, Rob served as Senior Associate Dean and Martin Marshall Professor of Management Practice at Harvard Business School, and before that he had an extensive Goldman Sachs career that included serving as Vice Chairman and Global Head of Investment Banking. With the current intense focus on inflation, the markets, green-flation, and deglobalization, we were eager to hear Rob's perspective.

In our discussion with Rob, we ask tough questions on where the Fed finds itself now, steps they might take to handle inflation, factors that led to our current state including the energy transition and climate decisions, the psychology of inflation and how we might end the cycle, government debt, and more. We also touch on Rob's transitions throughout his career and his takeaways from his expansive experience working with private businesses, non-profits, government agencies, and academics. We likely tried to bite off more than we could chew in one hour and know it will take much more to solve the inflation bubble. It was our honor to host Rob and we sincerely thank him for his time.

Mike Bradley started the show discussing notable headlines including the UK's windfall tax on energy companies and the likelihood that prices at the pump will continue to rise over summer. Colin Fenton prepped us for our meaty discussion with Rob with extensive background on inflation rates, central bank liabilities, and if you are a long-time COBT fan you will be glad to hear he also updated us on the US average price for potato chips.

Our country is certainly in a tough spot, for several reasons, and it was a great reminder from Rob that it will do us all a great service to put our heads down, chip away, and listen to each other. As always, thank you for your support and friendship!