Jeffrey D. Zients - Chief Performance Officer Biography

Jeffrey D. Zients (Photos by Post and AP)

On April 18, 2009 during his weekly address President Obama announced his intention to nominate a new Deputy Director of Management and Chief Performance Officer, Jeffrey Zients. If confirmed, Zients will fill a position first offered to management consultant Nancy Killefer, who withdrew from consideration in early February amid revelations about her personal income taxes.

Jeff (born c. 1966) has 20 years of business experience as a CEO, management consultant, and entrepreneur with a understanding of business strategy, process reengineering, and financial management.

Zients began his career in management consulting at Bain & Company and Mercer Management Consulting, where he focused on developing strategies and improving operations of Fortune 1000 companies.

After management consulting, He served as the Chairman of the Board of The Advisory Board Company and Chairman of the Board of The Corporate Executive Board Company. These two firms are leading providers of performance benchmarking and best practices across a wide range of industries, assisting senior executives at over 5,000 businesses to improve the efficiency of their operations. From June 2001 to November 2004 and January 2000 to April 2001, respectively. From July 1998 to June 2001, he served as Chief Executive Officer and from 1996 to July 1998 he served as Chief Operating Officer of The Advisory Board Company.

Both companies were established by Washington business legend David Bradley and they made Zientz and Bradley multimillionaires. Zients also played a key role in luring Major League Baseball back to Washington and partnered with a group of investors that failed to win ownership of the Washington Nationals. Mr. Zients currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors for Revolution Health, a holding company investing in consumer-driven healthcare, Best Practices, a provider of emergency medicine outsourcing services, and Timbuk2 Designs, a messenger bag and apparel retailer.

The Honorable Jeffrey Zients CIGIE Executive Chair (Photo by CIGIE)

He was a member of the board of directors of XM Satellite Radio until its 2008 merger.

Jeff is the Founder and Managing Partner of Portfolio Logic, an investment firm focusing primarily in business and healthcare services companies, and an active member of several corporate boards in diverse industries including consumer products, communications and healthcare.

He also co-founded The Urban Alliance Foundation, a non-profit organization that partners with corporations to provide economically disadvantaged youth with year-round paid internships, adult mentors and job training.

Jeff is a native of Kensington, Maryland and graduated summa cum laude from Duke University with a degree in Political Science, he lives in Washington D.C. with his wife, Mary and their 4 kids.

The President decided to make the Deputy Director for Management the government’s first Chief Performance Officer.

SOURCES:

• OMB - Blog Post - Move Over R2, CPO is Here
• Jeffrey D. Zients Profile - Forbes.com
• Jeffrey D. Zients - Portfolio.com
• Who Are Jeffrey Zients and Aneesh Chopra? - Federal Eye
• There's More Than Baseball in Jeffrey Zients's Days - washingtonpost.com
• Zients Is at the Top of His Game (washingtonpost.com)
• Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency
• Jeffrey Zients From Wikipedia

Congressman Kevin McCarthy Weekly Republican Address 04/18/09 VIDEO TEXT

PODCAST Congressman Kevin McCarthy Delivers Republican weekly radio address download MP3 4.8 mb running time 4:07 min.

Full Text Transcript:

“This is California Congressman Kevin McCarthy – the House Republicans’ Chief Deputy Whip.

“Earlier this week, President Obama said that we need to get serious about fiscal discipline by trimming waste in the federal budget. Republicans couldn’t agree more. We want to work with the President to get our financial house back in order.

“Unfortunately, the Washington Democratic establishment has pushed all year for policies that spend too much, tax too much, and borrow too much from our children and grandchildren.

“When I think of the future, I think of my 15 year old son Connor and my 12 year old daughter Meghan. I worry about their future because your kids are as important to you as mine are to me. And I am unwilling to leave our children with so much debt.

“It’s irresponsible to borrow more than all previous American Presidents combined. And it must stop if we want to get our economy moving again.

“The trillion-dollar ‘stimulus’ bill … the $410 billion dollar ‘omnibus’ spending bill… and the massive, fiscally-irresponsible Democratic budget that doubles the debt in just over five years, and triples the debt in just over ten years. All this money, but why are we funding a skateboard park in Rhode Island and new bike racks in Washington, D.C.? The Democratic governor of Ohio is planning to use $57 million dollars in ‘stimulus’ funds on studies instead of ‘shovel-ready’ projects that could create jobs now. And don’t forget that the same ‘stimulus’ bill authorized those outrageous AIG bonuses.

“When will all this spending and borrowing end?

“Hard working American families and small businesses are asking that same question. In fact, thousands of Americans turned out on Tax Filing Day to say they’ve had enough of the high taxes and borrowing to bankroll Washington’s spending spree.

“I attended one of these Tea Parties in my hometown of Bakersfield, California, and believe me, the message was heard loud and clear. Every day, America’s families, seniors, and small businesses are making tough choices. They’re worried about their jobs, their mortgages, and their savings. They’re sacrificing to pay the bills to make sure their children get a good education. But Washington isn’t willing to make the same difficult decisions.

“This is why Republicans are leading the way with solutions to provide a new direction. Rather than proposing more Washington spending, Republicans propose tax relief for American small businesses. We know America’s entrepreneurs and innovators create the jobs in our economy – over 70% of all American jobs come from small businesses.

“Republicans are also working to reduce taxes on hardworking American families, rebuild their savings, lower their energy costs, expand access to affordable health care, but most of all, curb Washington spending and borrowing. These are not Republican or Democratic ideas – these are common-sense American solutions that we have heard from millions of Americans.

“And we know that when the government spends our hard earned tax money, we should be guaranteed accountability. That’s why House Republicans are unveiling Washington Watch, a new website tracking misuse of taxpayer dollars and ‘stimulus’ waste. We invite you to visit that website at www.republicanwhip.house.gov. Together we can help stop wasteful Washington spending by shining a spotlight on the waste.

“In this time of economic crisis and financial instability, Republicans are reaching out to the President and Washington Democrats to find solutions to solve our country’s problems. We have incredible challenges before all of us, and we ask all Americans to join us in working together for better solutions. Because it’s not just our future… it’s all of our children’s future.

“Thank you for listening.”