Esther George, the recently appointed president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, will be the keynote speaker for the Feb. 7 annual meeting of Midwest Small Business Finance. The luncheon will be from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Harrah’s North Kansas City.

Formerly the bank’s first vice president and chief operating officer, George was named to succeed retiring president Thomas M. Hoening following a six-month search. A native of Faucett, Mo., she was directly involved in the Tenth District's banking supervision and discount window lending activities during the banking crisis of the 1980s and after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. She is a former chair of the Federal Reserve System's Community Banking Organizations Management Group and is also a member of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's Management Committee, which is responsible for strategic planning and policy direction.

In 2009, George served for a time at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in Washington, D.C. As acting director of the Board’s Division of Bank Supervision and Regulation during the financial crisis, she worked closely with the Board on System matters.

George’s experience in international central banking issues includes presentations at the Bank for International Settlement’s Financial Stability Institute programs in Lima, Peru; Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.; and Singapore. She also has served as the Tenth District’s lead officer for international partnership programs involving the central banks of Morocco, Iraq and Malawi.

George, 53, joined the Bank in 1982 and served as a commissioned bank examiner until 1995, when she was named to the Bank’s official staff. She has held numerous leadership positions at the Bank within its research support, public affairs and human resources functions.