Robert P. Bremner

ROBERT P. BREMNER began his career with the World Bank in Washington D.C. and has been an investment banker and management consultant. He is a former small business owner and currently serves as a public trustee for a large mutual fund management company.

He has a B.Sc. from Yale University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He lives with his wife in Washington D.C.

CHAIRMAN OF THE FED is Mr. Bremner's first book.

Welcome to the web site that describes my biography of William McChesney Martin, Jr. called "Chairman of the Fed." You will find a summary of the book, commentary by those who have previewed it, some observations about the book and Martin, and the book's introduction.

During the last few years we have heard about the conflicts of interest, pure greed, and criminal behavior of those in positions of responsibility in many areas of the financial business:investment banks and brokers, CPA firms, mutual fund complexes, etc. Various reforms have been initiated: the Sarbanes Oxley legislation by Congress, the huge settlements that NY Attorney General Eliott Spitzer has levied, and new rules issued by the NYSE and the SEC. These developments have highlighted the importance of the dedicated and capable regulators who oversee the U.S. Financial system. The man who has arguably done more than any other individual to strengthen and reform the nation's most important financial institutions is William McChesney Martin, Jr.

CHAIRMAN OF THE FED is the first biography of Martin (1906-1998), who served as the first paid president of the New York Stock Exchange (1938-41) and the longest serving chairman of the Federal Reserve System (1951-70). It describes Martin's remarkable life story and explains his lasting impact on the NYSE and the Fed, both troubled institutions when he inherited them.

Martin was elected to the NYSE presidency at the age of 31, to reform the practices that had facilitated the market crash of 1929. Negotiating with determined New Deal reformer and SEC chairman Willliam O. Douglas on one hand and with his fiercely change-resisting membership on the other, Martin implemented a reform program that both sides would accept. Later, taking over a discredited Federal Reserve System, he built it into the Fed of today that is universally respected for its competent management of the U.S. economy. The book also provides an inside look at the economic deliberations of five presidential administrations, from Truman to Nixon.

CHAIRMAN OF THE FED describes Martin's battles to bring about effective regulation of the U.S. financial markets. His experiences reflect the evolution of the American financial system and shed light on the critical issues that confront the system today.