Obama Names Members of Management Advisory Group

President Obama has named ten business executives to serve on the President's Management Advisory Board, a panel he created last year to advise administration officials on how to implement private sector best practices in government. The group holds its first meeting Friday.

The White House announcement is below:

President Obama Announces Members of President's Management Advisory Board

WASHINGTON - Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to appoint the following individuals to key Administration posts:

• Greg Brown, Member, President's Management Advisory Board
• Sam Gilliland, Member, President's Management Advisory Board
• Jeffrey B. Kindler, Member, President's Management Advisory Board
• Debra L. Lee, Member, President's Management Advisory Board
• Gail J. McGovern, Member, President's Management Advisory Board
• Shantanu Narayen, Member, President's Management Advisory Board
• Enrique Salem, Member, President's Management Advisory Board
• Elizabeth A. Smith, Member, President's Management Advisory Board
• Tim Solso, Member, President's Management Advisory Board
• Ronald A. Williams, Member, President's Management Advisory Board

President Obama said, "I am grateful that these impressive individuals have chosen to dedicate their talents to serving the American people at this important time for our country. I look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead to deliver a government that's more affordable, effective and efficient."

The President's Management Advisory Board (PMAB) was established by Executive Order on April 19, 2010 to provide advice on how to implement best business practices on matters related to Federal Government management and operation, with a particular focus on productivity, the application of technology, and customer service. The Board will hold their first meeting at the White House on Friday morning. This is part of the President's ongoing commitment to cut waste and get the most from taxpayer dollars.

The Board, chaired by the Deputy Director for Management of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Jeffrey Zients, will advise both the President and the President's Management Council, an interagency group that includes the deputy secretaries from the major executive departments and agencies.

The establishment of PMAB builds on the work of the President's Accountable Government Initiative and the 2010 White House Forum on Modernizing Government, which brought together 50 of the country's top Chief Executive Officers, who shared ideas about adapting their proven techniques and practices to spark improvements in efficiency and effectiveness across the government.

President Obama announced his intent to appoint the following individuals to key Administration posts:

Greg Brown, Appointee for Member, President's Management Advisory Board

Greg Brown is president and chief executive officer of Motorola Solutions, Inc., which is a global provider of mission-critical communication solutions for government and enterprise customers. Mr. Brown joined Motorola in 2003 and was elected to the company's board of directors in 2007. He became president and CEO of Motorola in January 2008. Previously, he headed four different businesses at Motorola, including the government and public safety, networks, enterprise and automotive businesses. Prior to joining Motorola, Mr. Brown was chairman and CEO of Micromuse Inc., a publicly traded network management software company. Before that, he was president of Ameritech Custom Business Services and Ameritech New Media Inc. Prior to joining Ameritech in 1987, Mr. Brown also held a variety of sales and marketing positions with AT&T. He is a member of the Business Council, Business Roundtable, Technology CEO Council, the Commercial Club of Chicago, the Northwestern Memorial Hospital board, and also serves on the executive committee of the U.S.-China Business Council (USCBC) and is a member of the U.S.-Brazil CEO Forum. He is also a member of the Rutgers University board of trustees and board of overseers. Mr. Brown earned a bachelor's degree in economics from Rutgers University.

Sam Gilliland, Appointee for Member, President's Management Advisory Board

Sam Gilliland is currently Chairman and CEO of Sabre Holdings, a leading travel technology company, which serves customers through Sabre Airline Solutions, Sabre Hospitality Solutions, Sabre Travel Network and Travelocity. Before being named CEO, Mr. Gilliland served in several senior leadership positions including President and CEO of Travelocity; Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Sabre Holdings; and Group President of Sabre Airline Solutions. Prior to joining Sabre in 1988, he was an electrical engineer for Lockheed Missiles and Space. Mr. Gilliland is a member of the U.S. Department of Commerce Travel and Tourism Advisory Board. Mr. Gilliland holds an M.B.A. from the University of Texas at Dallas and a B.S. from the University of Kansas.

Jeffrey B. Kindler, Appointee for Member, President's Management Advisory Board

Jeffrey B. Kindler is the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Pfizer, Inc., from which he retired in December 2010. Before being named CEO, he served in various positions, including as the company's Executive Vice President, Vice Chairman and General Counsel. Before joining Pfizer, he was the General Counsel and then the President of Partner Brands at McDonald's Corporation. Previously, he had been an officer at the General Electric Corporation and a partner at Williams & Connolly. He is a member of the Business Council and is on the Board of Trustees of Tufts University and Ronald McDonald House Charities. Mr. Kindler holds a B.A. from Tufts University and a J.D. from Harvard University.

Debra L. Lee, Appointee for Member, President's Management Advisory Board

Debra L. Lee is currently Chairman and CEO of BET Networks, a unit of Viacom Inc. In this role, Ms. Lee has led the company's successful reinvigorated brand and programming strategy resulting in consistent increases in viewership and revenue. Prior to being named CEO, she was the Chief Operating Officer of the company from 1996 to 2005. She also previously served as Vice President and General Counsel for the company from 1986 to 1996. Before joining BET, she was an attorney at the law firm of Steptoe & Johnson LLP from 1981 to 1986. Ms. Lee holds a B.S. from Brown University and a J.D. from Harvard University.

Gail J. McGovern, Appointee for Member, President's Management Advisory Board

Gail J. McGovern is currently the president and CEO of the American Red Cross. From 2002 to 2008, she was a professor of marketing at Harvard University. Before joining the faculty at Harvard, Ms. McGovern served as president of Fidelity Personal Investments, a unit of FMR LLC, from 1998 to 2002. She was also executive vice president for the Consumer Markets division at AT&T. Ms. McGovern holds a B.A. from Johns Hopkins University and an M.B.A. from Columbia University.

Shantanu Narayen, Appointee for Member, President's Management Advisory Board

Shantanu Narayen is president and CEO of Adobe Systems, Inc. Before becoming CEO in 2007, Mr. Narayen was Adobe's president and COO. Previously, he held key product research and development positions within Adobe, including executive vice president of worldwide products and vice president and general manager of the engineering technology group. Before joining Adobe in 1998, Mr. Narayen was a co-founder of Pictra, Inc., an online photo sharing service. Prior to that, he held senior management positions at Silicon Graphics, Inc. and Apple Computer, Inc. Mr. Narayen holds a B.S. from Osmania University in India, an M.S. from Bowling Green State University and an M.B.A. from the Haas School of Business.

Enrique Salem, Appointee for Member, President's Management Advisory Board

Enrique Salem is president and chief executive officer of Symantec Corp. Prior to being named CEO in 2009, he held a variety of senior management roles, including Chief Operating Officer and Group President of Worldwide Sales and Marketing. Before joining Symantec in 2004, Mr. Salem was president and CEO of the anti-spam software company Brightmail. From 2001 to 2002, he served as senior vice president of products and technology at Oblix, Inc. Prior to Oblix, he was vice president of technology and operations at Ask Jeeves Inc. Mr. Salem holds a B.A. from Dartmouth College.

Elizabeth A. Smith, Appointee for Member, President's Management Advisory Board

Elizabeth A. Smith is currently the Chief Executive Officer of OSI Restaurant Partners, LLC. As CEO, Ms. Smith is responsible for the company's family of casual dining brands, including, Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba's Italian Grill, Bonefish Grill, Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar, and Roy's restaurants. Ms. Smith joined OSI Restaurant Partners following a five-year tenure with Avon Products Inc., where she served most recently as President. In that role, she led the company's global Marketing, Supply Chain, Information Technology and Global Sales business units. Prior to joining Avon, Ms. Smith worked for 14 years at Kraft Foods Inc, where most recently she served as the Group Vice President and President of the U.S. Beverages and Grocery Sectors. Previously, she served as Group Vice President of Kraft Foods North America and President of Kraft Beverages, Desserts and Cereals. Ms. Smith is a member of the Board of Directors of Staples Inc. and Big Brothers, Big Sisters of America. She holds a B.A., Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of Virginia and an M.B.A. from Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

Tim Solso, Appointee for Member, President's Management Advisory Board

Tim Solso is currently the Chairman and CEO of Cummins, Inc. He began his career at Cummins as assistant to the Vice President of Personnel and 29 years later was named Chairman and CEO in 2000. Mr. Solso also serves as U.S. Chairman of the U.S. - Brazil CEO Forum and as a Principal of the American Energy Innovation Council. He is a recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, the Anti-Defamation League's Man of Achievement Award, and the William R. Laws Human Rights Award. Mr. Solso earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from DePauw University and an M.B.A. in Business Administration from Harvard University.

Ronald A. Williams, Appointee for Member, President's Management Advisory Board

Ronald A. Williams serves as Chairman of Aetna Inc., a diversified health care benefits company. Previously, Mr. Williams served as Chairman and CEO of Aetna from 2006 to 2010. In 2002, Mr. Williams was named President and joined Aetna's Board of Directors. He was named CEO in February 2006 and Chairman of the Board in October 2006. Prior to joining Aetna, Mr. Williams was Group President of the Large Group Division at WellPoint Health Networks Inc. and President of the company's Blue Cross of California subsidiary. Mr. Williams lends his time and expertise to a number of organizations, such as the International Federation of Health Plans, the Healthcare Leadership Council, GE Healthymagination Advisory Committee, the Wall Street Journal CEO Council and the Kennedy Center Corporate Fund Board. He serves on the Board of Directors of The Boeing Company and American Express Company. In January 2010, he co-chaired the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Mr. Williams is a graduate of Roosevelt University and holds an M.S. in Management from the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.