Profile Of Obamas Economic Team

FACE TIME Obama and Jeanne Lambrew, one of his top advisers on health care.

Image: Joshua Lott

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You’ve probably been keeping your eye on Larry and Tim. That’s National Economic Council Chairman Larry Summers, of course—a former secretary of the Treasury and, until he ruffled many a feather, the president of Harvard University—and Tim Geithner, the current Treasury secretary, who is in the hot seat over the ever-expanding financial bailout.

But to really understand Washington’s new power structure, you need to look beyond the limelight to a group of below-the-radar appointees who will be implementing President Obama’s economic and business agendas. Whether you’re at a hedge fund, a pharmaceutical company, or an internet startup, your life will be affected by what these appointees do. The players in this unseen demographic are always hugely influential, whether because of their personal relationships with their powerful bosses or because they have more specialized knowledge than the big names about many important policy issues. But they wield unprecedented power in the new administration because these are unprecedented times. Unlike the Clinton years, when most of them previously served in government, officials at their level are dealing with issues of lasting historic significance, from reregulation of the financial system to saving what’s left of the auto industry.

Here are seven such figures to watch. A few have long-standing friendships with President Obama. At least one of them has a chance of becoming Treasury secretary someday. Another may be next in line for White House chief of staff.

They’re a diverse lot, but they all have a few things in common: Each has experience in the private sector as well as in government, and each takes an approach to problem solving that’s more coolly pragmatic than ideological, a temperament that they share with their ultimate boss.

MICHAEL FROMAN
Deputy assistant to the president
I won’t claim to be objective about Michael Froman. We met more than 25 years ago when we shared a group house in Washington. Now he is in the unique and powerful position of serving on the staffs of both the National Economic Council, run by Summers, and the National Security Council, headed by General James Jones. This puts Froman, 46, right at the crossroads of foreign policy and business. He deals directly with policy regarding trade, international finance, and the global aspects of economic recovery.

The most important thing you need to know about Froman is that he has the president’s attention, certainly as much as any other second-tier administration official. The two have known each other since they were classmates at Harvard Law School in the early 1990s. Thanks to that relationship and the nature of his White House post, he is more likely to be included in meetings with the president than some of the other agency players listed here.

Froman also has strong ties to the financial-services industry. Before joining Obama’s administration, he was in alternative investments at Citigroup, where he worked in sustainable development. He is extremely close to former Citi chairman Robert Rubin, who brought him to the company. When Rubin (who helped run Obama’s transition team) served as Clinton’s secretary of the Treasury, Froman was his chief of staff, so Froman knows how to work the agencies.

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