“He is consistently kind and warm and generous with his time and provides extraordinarily good advice.”
Joe Hagin, former Deputy Chief of Staff
 | Today, President Bush is pleased to announce that he has named Blake L. Gottesman to serve as Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations. Blake is a trusted aide who understands the tremendous challenges of overseeing White House operations. He is well-respected in the White House and will do an outstanding job helping to ensure that the staff continues to effectively serve the American people throughout the remainder of the President's Administration. |
Blake worked as an Associate at Berkshire Partners LLC in Boston. Prior to this, he served as Special Assistant to the President and Personal Aide. Earlier in his career, he served as Personal Aide to the Chief of Staff and Executive Assistant to the Director of Oval Office Operations. Blake received his MBA from Harvard Business School. # # #
For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary July 16, 2008
Blake Gottesman (born 1980) is an assistant to the president and deputy chief of staff for President George W. Bush. In this role, he is youngest member of the Bush senior staff. He previously served in the Bush administration as personal aide and in his previous White House position, Blake turned a job that customarily has been somewhat junior — keeper of the bags and papers — into a management position that streamlined the president’s paper flow. He also built a rapid, fail-safe, thank-you-note process that has been continued and has brought the president considerable goodwill with people he meets around the world. . His work for the Pesident began during his presidential campaign in 1999.
Blake succeed deputy chief of staff Joe Hagin who has served in this role throughout the Bush presidency, announced earlier this month that he would leave July 20 to take a corporate job. His office is where the President’s job, personal life, ranch, security and military support all come together.
Gottesman is Jewish. His father is Sanford L. Gottesman, president of The Gottesman Company, a real estate development company based in Austin, Texas the company concentrates on office, retail, industrial, and land development. He is also a board member of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.
Mr. Gottesman was educated at St. Andrews Episcopal School and Stephen F. Austin High School, both in Austin, Texas; during this time he dated Jenna Bush when the President owned the Texas Rangers Major League Baseball team. Gottesman attended Claremont McKenna College for one year. While at Claremont McKenna College, he served as the personal assistant to the Associated Student Body President.
He worked as a junior aide to then-White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card at the beginning of Bush's presidential term and became Bush's full-time personal aide in February 2002. Gottesman was responsible for managing the President's day-to-day activities and traveled with Bush to functions and on overseas trips.
White House Counselor to the President Dan Bartlett calls Gottesman "a walking mood ring," the unquestioned authority on whom the President wants in his limo, what member of Congress he may accept in his office on Air Force One and whether it is wise for a top aide to bring up a particular topic at a particular time. In a 2006 Time article on Gottesman, he was said to understand Bush's moods and tendencies better than most of his other advisors. When asked about his similarity to Young in an interactive question-and-answer session on the White House’s Web site, Gottesman wrote, “Charlie seems to be smarter, funnier, and better-looking. But, from what I remember—our jobs are probably pretty similar.”
Though he initially said he had plans to finish college and then attend business school after finishing his work at the White House, Gottesman did not return to college and instead enrolled in Harvard Business School, graduating in 2008. His admission to the school despite not having received an undergraduate degree was criticized by some media. The President occasionally calls Gottesman "Soldier," needling him for the earpiece he wears to stay in contact with other staff members during presidential events. Lately Bush has been calling him "Harvard"
SOURCES:
- Statement by the Press Secretary
- Blake Gottesman
- Bush’s personal aide returns at top
- Bush’s Personal Aide To Enroll at Business School
- Sanford L. Gottesman
- Who Knows Bush's Mind Best?
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