James Hennessy

James Hennessy is a Senior Vice President in the Supervision Group at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Since 2014, he has led the New York Fed’s Governance and Culture Initiative.

James joined the Bank in 1992 as counsel in the Legal Group, where he oversaw issues related to assets held by foreign monetary authorities at the New York Fed, as well as international sanctions regimes. He was the Corporate Secretary and Chief of Staff for two of its presidents from 1998-2006. Throughout the Global Financial Crisis, he managed the New York Fed’s legal team advising on the rescue and restructuring of the insurance giant AIG. He joined the Bank Supervision Group in 2011 and served as its Interim Head in both 2015 and 2021.

The aims of the New York Fed’s Governance and Culture Initiative are to reduce incidences of misconduct in banking, promote healthier organizational cultures, and to increase public trust in the financial services sector. Through leading the Initiative, James concluded that the diagnosis and remediation of culture problems often ignore the underlying feelings driving human behaviors. His chapter of the book, "Reimagining Organizations: The Stories we Tell,” recounts the collective emotional life – the memories and fantasies – of a venerable institution coming to terms with its past while forging a new future.

James holds a B.A. degree in Philosophy/Mathematics from St. John’s College (Santa Fe), an MPhil in Anglo-Irish Literature from Trinity College Dublin, an M.S. from Columbia University School of Urban Planning, and a J.D. from Columbia University School of Law. He also holds an Executive Master in Change degree (Distinction) from INSEAD’s program on organizational culture and change management.