Patrick Harker is a distinguished scholar, academic leader, and public policy expert whose career spans the highest levels of academia, government, and finance. He is currently the Rowan Distinguished Professor and Professor of Operations, Information and Decisions at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and serves as Director of Academic Engagement for Penn Washington, where he helps connect the University’s research and thought leadership with national policy discussions in Washington, D.C.
From 2015 to 2025, Harker served as the 11th President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. In this role, he was a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee and played a key part in shaping US monetary policy. His tenure spanned a period of extraordinary economic challenge and change, including the recovery from the Great Recession, the COVID-19 pandemic, and subsequent inflationary pressures. He also led major initiatives to promote economic mobility, workforce development, and financial inclusion across the Federal Reserve’s Third District and nationally.
Before joining the Federal Reserve, Harker served for nearly a decade as President of the University of Delaware. Earlier, as Dean of the Wharton School, he strengthened Wharton’s global reach, launched innovative research centers, expanded executive education, and invested in technology to support cutting-edge teaching and learning.
A recognised authority in management science, financial services, and economic policy, Harker has authored or co-authored more than 100 scholarly articles. His research focuses on the use of data, analytics, and modeling to improve organisational performance, risk management, and customer outcomes in financial institutions.
Harker has served on numerous corporate and nonprofit boards across healthcare, energy, technology, and education, with deep experience in audit, risk, and strategy oversight. Early in his career, he was a White House Fellow and Special Assistant to the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
He holds a B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in Engineering and a Master of Arts in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania.
