Speakers
Michael A. Butler
Mike Butler is an innovative leader in the financial services industry with a unique perspective on delivering superior customer service, innovative products, and cutting-edge technology to clients. He joined Grasshopper as CEO in 2021 and has expanded the digital bank's vision of supporting the business and innovation economy. Prior to Grasshopper, Mike served as President and CEO of Radius Bank for over 13 years, turning a once-traditional bank into one of the most tech-forward banks in the country that was eventually acquired by LendingClub. Before Radius, Mike held various executive roles at KeyCorp. He is a graduate of Providence College and the ABA's Stonier Graduate School of Banking.
Susan M. Collins
Susan M. Collins is president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, one of the regional reserve banks in the Federal Reserve System, the U.S. central bank. In this role, Collins serves on the Federal Open Market Committee, the monetary policymaking body of the United States. As CEO, Collins oversees all of the bank's activities, including economic research and analysis; banking supervision and financial stability efforts; community economic development activities; and a wide range of payments, technology, and finance initiatives.
Prior to leading the Boston Fed, Collins was provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of Michigan. In that role, she was the chief academic and budget officer, responsible for overseeing all academic programming and budget planning. She was also the Edward M. Gramlich Collegiate Professor of Public Policy and Professor of Economics. Collins came to Michigan in 2007, serving for a decade as the Joan and Sanford Weill Dean of the university's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. As she stepped down as provost, Michigan's Board of Regents awarded her a Regents' Citation of Honor for her dedication and service to the university. She retains the designation of a professor at the university, on unpaid leave.
Collins contributed previously within the Federal Reserve System, serving for nine years on the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago (three of those years as a director for the Detroit branch), starting in 2013.
Collins earned a Ph.D. in economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology after graduating from Harvard University summa cum laude, with a bachelor's degree in economics. Her published research has focused on the determinants of economic growth and exchange rate regimes, and the implications for economic performance. She has also explored the implications of global integration for U.S. labor markets, persistent macroeconomic imbalances, and countries' economic transformations.
Susan M. Collins is a naturalized U.S. citizen of Jamaican descent, born in Scotland and raised in New York City. She is married to Dr. Donald R. Vereen, Jr., MD, MPH; and they have two adult children.
Glenn Larson
Glenn Larson is a manager in the Supervision, Regulation, and Credit (SRC) department at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Glenn is responsible for supporting the safety and soundness supervision program, overseeing a portfolio of First District community and regional banks, and regional service providers. Prior to his current role, Glenn served as commissioned field examiner within the Regional and Community Supervision program. Before joining the Federal Reserve, Glenn worked in construction management as a project engineer in metro New York for several years. Glenn is also a veteran, having served as an officer in the U.S. Navy on active duty for over five years. Glenn holds a Bachelor of Science in Political Science from the U.S. Naval Academy, a Master of Business Administration in Finance from the University of Connecticut, and a Master of Public Administration in Public Finance from Harvard University.
Jeffrey P. Thompson
Jeffrey P. Thompson is a vice president and economist in the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department, where he is the director of the New England Public Policy Center. Prior to joining the Boston Fed, Thompson was a principal economist at the Federal Reserve Board and a professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Political Economy Research Institute. His research focuses on household finance, income, wealth and consumption inequality, state and local taxes, and regional economics. Thompson earned his PhD in economics from Syracuse University. He joined the Boston Fed in 2018.