Media Release Staff Appointments

Appointment of Head of Economic Analysis

Dr Michael Plumb has been appointed to Head of Economic Analysis at the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). He will take up the position on 20 August 2024 and will report to Sarah Hunter, Assistant Governor (Economic).

Prior to this appointment, Dr Plumb held several senior roles at the RBA. Most recently as Head of the Banking Department and prior to that as Chief Representative for the RBA in New York, Deputy Head of Economic Analysis and Deputy Head of Economic Research.

Dr Plumb has a Bachelor of Economics (Hons) and a Master of Economics & Econometrics (Hons) from the University of Sydney and a doctorate in Economics from the University of Oxford.

As Head of Economic Analysis, Dr Plumb will lead Economic Analysis department in monitoring and forecasting trends in both the domestic and international economies, advising Governors and the Reserve Bank Board on developments and monetary policy.

Appointment of Head of Note Issue

Carl Schwartz has been promoted to Head of Note Issue at the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). He will take up the position on 30 September 2024 and will report to Michelle McPhee, Assistant Governor (Business Services).

Mr Schwartz has been acting Head of Domestic Markets since April 2023. Prior to this role, he has held a number of senior roles across foreign reserves management, economic analysis, financial stability and payments policy. Mr Schwartz also held the role of Chief Representative in New York for the RBA and was an Adviser at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Mr Schwartz has a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) from the University of Melbourne and a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment from the Securities Institute of Australia.

In his new role Mr Schwartz will be leading the Note Issue Department which is responsible for the production and issuing of Australia’s banknotes, ensuring they are of high quality and the threat of counterfeiting is low. Mr Schwartz joins Note Issue at a critical time as Australia manages the changes in cash use and the policy and distribution implications that brings.

David Jacobs will return to the role of Head of Domestic Markets in October 2024.