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New leaders named in Research, Financial Management, and Cash Services

Minneapolis, March 22, 2022

New leaders named in Research, Financial Management, and Cash Services

The board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis has appointed Ben Malin vice president of Research, Liz Leake assistant vice president in Financial Management, and Cuc Warzonek assistant vice president of Cash Services.

Ben Malin

As vice president of the Research division, Ben Malin will oversee the division’s economic analysis function, which is a primary source of support for President Neel Kashkari. This team also provides economic updates to our board of directors and contributes to academic research on a range of issues related to the policy mission of the Federal Reserve System.

Malin has been a senior research economist at the Bank since 2012, and in that role he served as a policy advisor to President Kashkari and the FRS Committee on Credit and Risk Management. Ben has a Bachelor of Science in economics and mathematics from Iowa State University and a doctorate in economics from Stanford University. He reports to Mark Wright, senior vice president of Research.

Liz Leake

As an assistant vice president in the Financial Management Group, Liz Leake will have responsibility for the financial planning and analysis (FP&A) team. Leake will oversee the budget process, management reporting and analysis, and cost accounting.

Leake has been the director of FP&A since 2013. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Carleton College and a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Minnesota. She will report to Jorge Lomeli, chief financial officer.

Cuc Warzonek

As assistant vice president of Cash Services, Cuc Warzonek will have responsibility over the day-to-day operations of Cash Services in Minneapolis and at the Helena, Mont., branch.

Prior to joining the Bank, Warzonek worked for Brinks/Dunbar Armored Cash Vault Services, where she was a regional vice president. She has a Bachelor of Arts in business administration management from Hamline University. She reports to Shane Hughley, vice president of Cash Services and Enterprise Risk.


The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis is one of 12 regional Reserve Banks that, with the Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., make up the Federal Reserve System, the nation’s central bank. The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis is responsible for the Ninth Federal Reserve District, which includes Montana, North and South Dakota, Minnesota, northwestern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis participates in setting national monetary policy, supervises numerous banking organizations, and provides a variety of payments services to financial institutions and the U.S. government.