Sheila Bair

Sheila Bair

American academic and government official (born 1954)

Sheila Colleen Bair (born April 3, 1954) is an American former government official who was the 19th Chair of the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) from 2006 to 2011. Shortly after taking charge of the FDIC, Bair began warning of the potential systemic risks posed by the growing trend of subprime-mortgage-backed bonds, and then later assumed a prominent role in the government's response to the 2008 financial crisis.2

From Wikipedia’s article on Sheila Bair (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Born Apr 3, 1954.1

About

She was appointed to the post for a five-year term on June 26, 2006 by George W. Bush to serve through July 8, 2011. She was subsequently the 28th president of Washington College in Chestertown, MD, the first female head of the college in its 234-year history, a position she held from 2015 until her resignation in 2017.

From Wikipedia’s article on Sheila Bair, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2

Companies

Early life and education

  • Date not recordedUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst3
  • Date not recordedUniversity of Kansas3
  • Date not recordedUniversity of Kansas School of Law3

Bair is a native of Independence, Kansas. Born to a Lutheran Christian family, her father Albert (1916–2008), who was of German descent, was a surgeon and her mother, Clara (née' Brenneman) (1921–2017), was a nurse and housewife. Her father also served on the Independence School Board and Independence City Council. She received her bachelor's degree in philosophy from the University of Kansas in 1975, and worked as a bank teller for a brief period, before receiving a J.D. from the University of Kansas School of Law in 1978. In 1981, she was recruited by Senator Bob Dole, a Republican from her state, to serve as counsel on his staff in Washington.

In 1990, Bair ran for the United States House of Representatives to succeed retiring Congressman Bob Whittaker. She narrowly lost the Republican primary to banker Dick Nichols.

From Wikipedia’s article on Sheila Bair (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Career

Occupation: politician, lawyer, university teacher, businessperson, economist.7

  • 2019 to 2022Board member, Fannie Mae5
  • Since 2015President, Washington College6
  • Date not recordedWorked at University of Massachusetts Amherst4
  • Date not recordedChairperson, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation6

Pre-FDIC Career

Prior to her appointment at the FDIC, Bair was the Dean's Professor of Financial Regulatory Policy for the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, a post she had held since 2002. She also served as Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions at the U.S. Department of the Treasury (2001 to 2002), during which time she was awarded The Treasury Medal, an honor that recognized her work in stabilizing the financial infrastructure following the 9/11 attacks and her efforts in developing consumer-focused financial policies. She also served as Senior Vice President for Government Relations of the New York Stock Exchange (1995 to 2000), a Commissioner and Acting Chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (1991 to 1995), and Research Director, Deputy Counsel and Counsel to Kansas Republican Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (1981 to 1988).

While an academic, Bair also served on the FDIC's Advisory Committee on Banking Policy. Bair also pursued a seat in the U.S. Congress (she lost the 1990 Republican nomination in the 5th Kansas district by 760 votes to Dick Nichols). Bair began her career in the General Counsel's office of the former U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.

FDIC Tenure

Bair was appointed to chair the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) by President George W. Bush on June 26, 2006. She left the FDIC on July 8, 2011, when her five-year term expired.

During her tenure as FDIC Chair, Bair received multiple prestigious awards and recognitions. In 2009, she was presented the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award in recognition of the political courage she demonstrated in sounding early warnings about conditions that contributed to the global financial crisis. Bair was named a Distinguished Kansan of the Year in 2008, was named Forbes’ 2nd Most Powerful Woman in the World in both 2008 and 2009, and was a recipient of LCCR’s Hubert H. Humphrey Civil Rights Award in 2009. She was also named "the little guy's protector in chief" by TIME magazine, named to the TIME 100 List in 2009 and was featured in the 2010 article, The New Sheriffs Of Wall Street, appearing on the cover. She also received the Better Business Bureau’s Presidents’ Award in 2010 and was the recipient of Jump$tartCoalition’s Federal Leadership Award in 2010.

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Post-FDIC Career

Bair became a senior advisor to The Pew Charitable Trusts in August 2011. She is chair emerita of the Systemic Risk Council, a volunteer effort formed by the CFA Institute and the Pew Charitable Trusts to monitor and comment on regulation.

Bair continued to receive recognition following her FDIC tenure. In November 2011, she was named one of Seven Top American Leaders by the Washington Post and Harvard Kennedy School for Public Leadership. In 2012, BYU Marriott School of Business named her 'Administrator of the Year'. Also in 2012, the Women’s Bar Association of the District of Columbia (WBA), in conjunction with the Women’s Bar Association Foundation (WBAF), recognized Sheila Bair with the Janet Reno Torchbearer Award. The same year, Bair was an honoree of the Council for Economic Education’s Visionary Award. In 2013, Bair was awarded The National Academy of Public Administration’s Elliot L. Richardson Prize for Excellence in Public Service. In 2016, the FDIC honored Bair with the dedication and naming of a new auditorium. That same year, The Daily Record named her an Influential Marylander Honoree for her work in education. In 2026, Bair received the Truman Medal for Economic Policy. Also in 2026, she was the recipient of the Jump$tart Coalition Odom Award.

In May 2015, Bair was appointed president of Washington College, becoming the first female head of the college in its 234-year history. During her tenure as president, Bair helped implement several debt-reducing programs aimed at making a degree more affordable, including "Fixedfor4," which guarantees tuition costs will not rise for students during their four years at college, and "Dam the Debt," which awards scholarships to graduating seniors to help pay off federal student loans. Bair resigned on June 30, 2017, citing the demands of the job and insufficient time with her family.

Since leaving government service, Bair has served on a number of corporate boards. Her past board memberships include Bunge Limited, Lion Electric, and Fannie Mae., where she was named the first woman Chair of the board of directors. Bair previously was on the boards of Host Hotels & Resorts, the state-run Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (2017 to 2020), Thomson Reuters and Santander. She was criticized for joining the board of Santander, a Spanish banking group, which critics viewed as inconsistent with her public views on the revolving door. She has also served on a number of nonprofit boards, including as a founding director of the Volcker Alliance, the Center for Responsible Lending, the RAND Corporation, and the National Women's Law Center.

Current Roles

In 2021, Ms. Bair was appointed a trustee of Economists for Peace and Security, a group of economists and public servants concerned about issues of peace, conflict, war, and the world economy.

She currently serves on the Santander International Advisory Board, Ripple Stable Coin Advisory Board, Jiko Advisory Board, and is a member of the Wealthfront Banking Advisory Group. Bair also serves as Senior Adviser Center for Financial Stability and remains Founding Chair and Senior Advisor of the Systemic Risk Council.

She is a member of CNBC’s Global Financial Wellness Advisory Board, a member of FoolProof Foundation Walter Cronkite Committee, and is a frequent contributor to Financial Times.

From Wikipedia’s article on Sheila Bair (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Personal life

  • BornApr 3, 1954, Wichita8
  • CitizenshipUnited States9

Bair is married to Scott P. Cooper and has two children, Preston and Colleen.

From Wikipedia’s article on Sheila Bair (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Awards

  • 2009Profile in Courage Award10 11

Sources

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