By Fawn Johnson Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- The transition team for President-elect Barack Obama announced Wednesday a raft of co-chairs overseeing cabinet-level appointments, and several have business experience in the financial and technology sectors.
Don Gips, who is on leave from his job as a group vice president for Level 3 Communications Inc. (LVLT) to help with the Obama transition, is one of three co-chairs reviewing key departments, agencies, and commissions of the U.S. government. Formerly head of the International Bureau at the Federal Communications Commission, Gips also is among those being talked about for an administration slot.
Gips will be joined by Melody Barnes, formerly a staffer for Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and principal at the Raben Group consulting firm; and Lisa Brown, who is on leave as executive director of the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy.
Investment fund advisor and former investment banker Josh Gotbaum and Stonebridge International Chief Operating Officer Michael Warren will head up the review process for the Treasury Department. Both also have prior experience in the White House.
The State Department vetting team will be headed by Tom Donilon, a partner at the law firm of O'Melveny and Myers, and Wendy Sherman, a principal at the Albright Group consulting firm.
The Defense Department team will be led by John White, who served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps and Deputy Secretary of Defense under the Clinton administration. White now heads the Kennedy School Middle East Initiative. Joining White will be Michele Flournoy, president and co-founder of the Center for a New American Security.
In addition to reviewing key federal agencies, the review teams will ensure that all senior appointees have the information necessary to complete the confirmation process and begin implementing policy initiatives immediately after they are sworn in, the transition team said.
Several technology-oriented people also will be assisting the co-chairs in evaluating government agencies and making recommendations for appointments. They include former FCC Chairman Reed Hundt, who now is a part-time senior advisor for consulting firm McKinsey and Co.; Louisa Terrell, who is on leave as a senior director of public policy at Yahoo Inc. (YHOO); and Tom Wheeler, who is on leave of absence from the venture-capital firm Core Capital Partners. Wheeler has also headed the National Cable Television Association.
-By Fawn Johnson, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9263; fawn.johnson@dowjones.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 12, 2008 17:47 ET (22:47 GMT)

Publié le 12 novembre 2008 Copyright © 2008 Dowjones