US President-elect Barack Obama has appointed a 17-member high-level team of advisers, including billionaire investor Warren Buffett and Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt, to guide him in channelising the economy, a media report says.
“US President-elect Barack Obama has appointed a team of high-level advisers including billionaire investor Warren Buffett and Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt to guide his thoughts on the economy ahead of taking office on January 20,” the Telegraph report stated.
The team, to be called the Transition Economic Advisory Board (TEAB), will meet for the first time in Chicago today to discuss the state of the economy and the prospect of taking early action.
Warren Buffett, Chairman and CEO, Berkshire Hathaway, would participate through speakerphone in the meeting.
Further, the report stated that Obama might use this opportunity to appoint his first Treasury Secretary.
The advisory board has 17 members including former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker, whose name has also been connected with the Treasury job, and former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, who would also be at the meeting at the Chicago Hilton today, the daily said.
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At present, Robert Rubin is Chairman and Director of the Executive Committee of global financial services major Citigr-oup.
Besides, corporate America is also well represented in the team, with Time Warner Chairman Dick Parsons and Xerox Chairman Anne Mulcahy and Schmidt, who was a loyal supporter of Obama during his election campaign, it added.
Other members of the board comprise Laura Tyson, one of Obama's key economic aides, former House of Representatives member David Bonior, two former SEC Commissioners Roel Campos and William Donaldson, and Chairman of the Midwest JP Morgan Chase William Daley, the Telegraph report said.
Further, TIAA-CREF President and CEO Roger Ferguson, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Classic Residence by Hyatt CEO Penny Pritzker, Robert Reich and Laura Tyson from the University of California and DE Shaw Managing Director Lawrence Summers are on the board, it added.