New York Fed Appoints Michael Held as General Counsel and Head of Legal Group

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York has appointed Michael Held as executive vice president, general counsel, and head of its Legal Group, effective August 15.

Michael Held, who joined the Bank in August 1998, was elevated to deputy general counsel in July 2008 and led the Bank’s corporate affairs division. Over the last ten years, he has also acted as the bank’s corporate secretary, providing guidance to the Board of Directors on compliance matters following the Financial Crisis. Additionally, he was part of the President’s transition team when Timothy Geithner, the former New York Fed president, took on the role of Secretary of the U.S. Treasury Department.

“Michael has been a trusted adviser to me, and I consistently seek his counsel on some of the most sensitive and important issues facing the Bank,” commented William C. Dudley, president and chief executive officer of the Bank. “I look forward to continuing to work closely with him in the years to come.”

Before his tenure at the New York Fed, Held worked as an associate at an international law firm in its litigation department and previously as an associate in the labor and employment department of another law firm.

A member of the state Bar Associations in New York and Massachusetts, Held holds a J.D. from New York University School of Law and a B.S. in Human Service Studies from Cornell University.