Richard Blum Joins SF Fed Econ Advisory Council

Richard Blum, founder and chairman of Blum Capital Partners, has joined the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco’s Economic Advisory Council for a three-year term.

PRESS RELEASE

Richard C. Blum, chairman and founder of San Francisco-based Blum Capital Partners, has joined the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco’s Economic Advisory Council for a three-year term ending December 31, 2012.

Economic Advisory Council members provide information on current and pending developments in the regional and national economies. As a member of the Economic Advisory Council, Mr. Blum will provide insights on the Bay Area’s financial services industry and will offer observations on private equity and other Bay Area business interests.

Mr. Blum founded Blum Capital in 1975 to invest in private equity as well as in middle market, publicly traded companies and to work cooperatively with management to pursue strategies that enhance long term value. Mr. Blum is also co-chairman-Asia of TPG Capital and co-founder of Newbridge Capital, now part of TPG Capital.

Mr. Blum currently serves as chairman of the board of directors of real estate company CB Richard Ellis, and he is a director of Fairmont Raffles Holding International, and Current Media, L.L.C.

Mr. Blum has long been dedicated to philanthropic interests, primarily focused on global poverty and education. In 2006, the Blum Center for Developing Economies at the University of California, Berkeley was established with a grant from Mr. Blum to foster student interest in issues surrounding global poverty. Eight years ago, Mr. Blum founded the Global Economy and Development Center at the Brookings Institution and the Brookings Blum Roundtable Conference, to develop policy research strategy and to work on individual projects.

Mr. Blum is Chairman Emeritus of the University of California Board of Regents and now continues to serve as a Regent.

Mr. Blum has a BA and an MBA from the University of California at Berkeley. Prior to founding Blum Capital, he was with Sutro & Co. for 17 years, holding various positions including director, major stockholder and executive committee member.

The balance of the San Francisco Fed’s Economic Advisory Council includes:

Stephen M. Brophy (chairman), president, Page Land & Cattle Company, Phoenix, Arizona.

Mary F. Kaiser (vice chair), president, California Community Reinvestment Corporation, Glendale, California.

Jonathan Coslet, chief investment officer and senior partner, TPG Capital, L.P., San Francisco, California.

Susan Desmond-Hellmann, chancellor, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California.

Tracey C. Doi, group vice president and CFO, Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc., Torrance, California.

Kim Roberts Hedgpeth, national executive director, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, Los Angeles, California.

Rick R. Holley, president and CEO, Plum Creek Timber Co., Inc., Seattle, Washington.

Cathy Luke, president, Loyalty Enterprises, Ltd., Honolulu, Hawaii.

Alfred A. Plamann, president and CEO, Unified Grocers, Inc., Commerce, California.

Roy A. Vallee, chairman of the board and CEO, Avnet, Inc., Phoenix, Arizona.

The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, with branch offices in Los Angeles, Seattle, Salt Lake City, and Portland, and a cash processing office in Phoenix, provides wholesale banking services to financial institutions throughout the nine western states. As the nation’s central bank, the Federal Reserve System formulates monetary policy, serves as a bank regulator, administers consumer protection laws, and is fiscal agent for the U.S. government. Learn more about the economy, financial crisis and road ahead at http://frbsf.org/econanswers