Robert Steven Kaplan

Robert Steven Kaplan (born 1957) is president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. He was appointed to the position on September 8, 2015.

Prior to joining the Dallas Fed, Kaplan was a Senior Associate Dean and the Martin Marshall Professor of Management Practice at Harvard Business School. Kaplan is an active venture philanthropist through his work as co-chairman of the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, a global venture philanthropy firm which has invested in approximately 110 new non-profit ventures.

He is the author of three books: What to Ask the Person in the Mirror: Critical Questions for Becoming a More Effective Leader and Reaching Your Potential (Harvard Business Review Press, 2011), What You’re Really Meant to Do: A Road Map for Reaching Your Unique Potential (Harvard Business Review Press, 2013) and What You Really Need to Lead: The Power of Thinking and Acting Like an Owner (Harvard Business School Review Press, 2015).

In August 2015, Kaplan was named to head the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, effective September 2015.

Prior to joining Harvard in 2006, Kaplan was vice chairman of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. with global responsibility for the firm's Investment Banking and Investment Management Divisions. Previously, he served as global co-head of the Investment Banking Division. He was also a member of the firm’s Management Committee and served as co-chairman of the firm’s Partnership Committee and chairman of the Goldman Sachs Pine Street Leadership Program.

During his 23-year career at Goldman Sachs, Kaplan served in various other capacities, including head of the Corporate Finance Department, head of Asia-Pacific Investment Banking as well as head of the high-yield department in Investment Banking. He became a partner in 1990. Upon joining Harvard in 2006, Kaplan became a senior director of the firm.

In 2010, Kaplan co-founded Indaba Capital Management, which manages approximately $1 billion.

Kaplan was born and raised in Prairie Village, Kansas and is a graduate of the University of Kansas in 1979 and Harvard Business School in 1983. He lives with his son in Dallas, Texas.