The Federal Reserve Bank of New York has appointed three new members to its Second District Advisory Council. The council is made up of senior business leaders who provide the bank’s president and leadership with perspectives on business and economic conditions in the Second District, which includes New York State, northern New Jersey, southwestern Connecticut, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands (https://www.newyorkfed.org/).
The new appointees are Daniel Cunha of Avis Budget Group, Inc.; Mario Harik of XPO; and Diego Suárez, Jr. of V. Suárez & Co., Inc.
Cunha serves as chief financial officer at Avis Budget Group, a car rental company based in Parsippany, New Jersey. Before joining Avis Budget Group, he was CFO at Orion Services Group and held similar roles at Ocean Spray and Heinz North America. He began his career at McKinsey & Company before moving to GP Investments. Cunha holds a degree in mechanical aeronautical engineering from Brazil’s Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Harik is chairman and CEO of XPO, a freight transportation provider headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut. He previously served as XPO’s chief information officer. Earlier in his career, Harik was CIO and senior vice president of research and development at Oakleaf Waste Management and CTO at Tallan, Inc. He earned a master’s degree in information technology engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a degree in computer and communications engineering from the American University of Beirut.
Suárez is chairman of the board & CEO at V. Suárez & Co., Inc., a food and beverage distribution company operating in Puerto Rico since 1943. The company employs about 600 people across several lines including beverage manufacturing and brand ownership as well as corporate finance activities. Before joining V. Suárez & Co., Suárez worked in sales and marketing roles with Joseph E. Seagram & Sons, F&M Schaeffer Brewing Company, Inc., and Premier Maldonado & Associates. He has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Miami.
Members serve three-year terms on the council. The next meeting is scheduled for February 23, 2026.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York operates within the Federal Reserve System (https://www.newyorkfed.org/) and plays an important role by providing thought leadership on community economic issues (https://www.newyorkfed.org/). It supports the U.S economy through monetary policy execution (https://www.newyorkfed.org/), supervision of financial institutions (https://www.newyorkfed.org/), delivery of financial services (https://www.newyorkfed.org/), job creation efforts (https://www.newyorkfed.org/), maintaining stable prices (https://www.newyorkfed.org/), driving economic growth (https://www.newyorkfed.org/), offering expertise on economic matters (https://www.newyorkfed.org/) ,and representing its district with diverse staff supporting global financial functions (https://www.newyorkfed.org/). John C. Williams has been president and chief executive officer since June 2018 (https://www.newyorkfed.org/).
For more details about the council or its full membership list or past meeting minutes visit this webpage.
