John W. Ruser served as president and CEO of WCRI from 2015 to 2023. In this role, he was responsible for executive leadership, strategic planning, and oversight of the Institute’s economic and statistical research program. 

Before coming to WCRI, Dr. Ruser held three executive positions in the Federal statistical system, including serving as Associate Commissioner for Productivity and Technology and Assistant Commissioner for Safety, Health and Working Conditions, both at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), and Associate Director for Regional Economics at the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis.  In these three positions, he managed statistical programs that produced data on productivity, worker safety and health, and regional income, price and product accounts.  Earlier in his career, Dr. Ruser was a researcher and Chief of the BLS office that conducted research on employee compensation and working conditions in the US, including measures of employee wages and benefits and worker safety and health. 

Dr. Ruser has written many academic peer-reviewed and non-technical articles and book chapters on occupational safety and health, workers’ compensation insurance and employee benefits.  He holds Ph.D. and M.A. degrees in economics from the University of Chicago and a B.A. in economics from Princeton University.