For Release
WASHINGTON – Last week, the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) approved the selection of two agency veterans to serve in senior leadership roles. FDIC Chairman Jelena McWilliams appointed Nikita Pearson to serve as Deputy to the Chairman for External Affairs and Dan Bendler to lead the FDIC’s Division of Administration.
A commissioned bank examiner, Ms. Pearson was an executive in the bank supervision workforce before her appointment to Director of the FDIC’s Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI). She will continue to serve as the OMWI Director and, in her expanded role, will manage the agency’s broader engagement mission, including oversight of the FDIC’s Office of Communications and Office of the Ombudsman.
After serving more than 20 years in the FDIC’s Division of Administration, Mr. Bendler assumes the role of Director. Most recently, Mr. Bendler was Chief of Staff to the Chief Operating Officer where he helped to lead the FDIC’s operational response to the pandemic and strategic efforts in the design and construction of new FDIC facilities to support a hybrid workforce.
Chairman McWilliams said, “Nikita is a tireless advocate for the FDIC’s mission and has exponentially advanced our diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility work and our efforts to expand financial inclusion. Dan’s leadership of our Division of Administration will further efforts to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the FDIC, to restore internal controls, and to develop innovative solutions to the agency’s operational challenges.”