Broaddus succeeded Robert P. Black and served as the Richmond Fed's president from January 1, 1993, until his retirement on July 31, 2004.

In 2000, he spoke about the European Monetary Union (EMU) at Davidson College, and his speech was reprinted for the University of Richmond's Journal of Law and Business.

[7] Also in 2004 for the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond's Economic Quarterly, he wrote "Macroeconomic Principles and Monetary Policy".

He is a board member for Albemarle Corp., Faison Enterprises, Inc., Markel Corporation, Owens & Minor and T. Rowe Price.

He held civic leadership posts for the Richmond Renaissance executive committee and the Virginia Historical Society’s board of directors.

During his tenure at the Richmond Fed he participated in the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meetings.

[20] He has spoken at groups including the American Furniture Manufacturers Association[21] and Levy Economic Institute of Bard College.