CFPB Fills Key Posts After Long Vacancies

WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced several key hires on Wednesday, including a chief economist, financial empowerment director and market liquidity researcher.

Christopher Carroll, a professor for Johns Hopkins University, will serve as assistant director and chief economist for the agency's Office of Research. Carroll has taken a leave of absence from Hopkins to work at CFPB.

Daniel Dodd-Ramirez is the agency's new assistant director for financial empowerment in the consumer education and engagement division. He was previously executive director of Step Up Savannah, which supports programs that help low-and moderate-income families become financially secure and build, maintain and protect financial assets such as savings, homeownership and entrepreneurship.

Jeffrey Langer, meanwhile, is the assistant director of installment and liquidity lending markets in the bureau's research, markets and regulations division. He previously served as senior counsel at Macy's department stores in Mason, Ohio. He is a founding fellow and treasurer of the American College of Consumer Financial Services Lawyers. He succeeds Richard Hackett who left the bureau last summer.

"I'm pleased that these incredibly talented individuals have joined the bureau," said CFPB Director Richard Cordray in a press release. "All three offices play an essential role in making sure that consumers are being treated fairly. These experts will lead the teams that help us monitor the marketplace and provide tangible benefit to consumers."