President Obama has named a management consultant as the government’s first chief performance officer. Jeffery Zients is the founder and managing partner of Porfolio Logic, an investment firm focused primarily on business and healthcare service companies.
Zients has 20 years of business experience as a CEO, management consultant and entrepreneur and has a good grasp of business strategy, process reengineering and financial management, the White House said.
Zients has also served as CEO and chair of the Advisory Board Company and as chair of the Corporate Executive Board, which are providers of performance benchmarks and best practices across a wide range of industries.
Obama’s first pick for that post, Nancy Killefer, withdrew from consideration when it came to light that she had failed to pay employment taxes for domestic help.
Zeints will also serve as a deputy director for management in OMB, and work to streamline processes, cut costs, and find best practices throughout government.
Aneesh Chopra, currently the secretary of technology for Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia, has agreed to serve as chief technology officer.
The White House said Chopra would be tasked with promoting technological innovation to help achieve urgent priorities such as creating jobs and reducing health care costs and security.