Gutierrez Tapped To Lead Commerce

WASHINGTON – Making his first appointment toward revamping the economic team for his second term, President Bush yesterday picked Cuban-born Carlos Gutierrez, the chief executive officer of Kellogg Co., to be secretary of commerce.Mr. Gutierrez will replace Donald Evans, an old Texan friend of the president’s, who announced his departure shortly after the election. Several members of Mr. Bush’s economic team have handed in their notice already or said they plan to leave the administration when the president selects replacements.Mr. Bush has wanted changes in the economic team in advance of his plan to move quickly on three big campaign promises – reforming Social Security, simplifying the federal income tax system, and curbing medical malpractice awards.In announcing his selection of Mr. Gutierrez, the president said the Kellogg CEO is “a visionary executive” and “one of America’s most respected business leaders.”Mr. Gutierrez, whose family fled Cuba in 1960 when he was 6, joined the breakfast cereal giant in 1975 as a truck driver in Mexico. Within 10 years he was running Kellogg’s operation in Mexico, and five years later he ascended to the higher echelons of the company, becoming chief operating officer in 1998.Noting his renowned work ethic and his seemingly endless stream of ideas, the president highlighted Mr. Gutierrez’s rags-to-riches story. “He learned English from a bellhop at a Miami hotel,” Mr. Bush said in introducing Mr. Gutierrez at the White House. He said Mr. Gutierrez will be an “inspiration to millions of American men and women.”“We never imagined that this country would give me this great opportunity,” Mr. Gutierrez told Mr. Bush. “I believe passionately in your leadership and the direction you’ve set.”He added: “I believe in your call for a vibrant, growing, entrepreneurial society where everyone has the opportunity to experience the joy and the pride of ownership, where everyone can contribute and where everyone can benefit. I have had the opportunity to live that American dream, so I know that the president’s vision is noble, I know it’s real, and I know it’s tangible.”If his nomination is approved by the Senate, Mr. Gutierrez will oversee an agency with more than 35,000 employees and a budget last year of $6 billion. His salary will be $175,000 a year, a massive pay-cut from the $2.7 million salary and almost $5 million in bonus payments and options he received from Kellogg last year.White House sources told The New York Sun that the president will move quickly to fill other posts in his economic team. Mr. Bush’s chief economic adviser, Stephen Friedman, announced last week that he is leaving, and Treasury Secretary Snow, who has said he would like to stay, could be out, too.Bush aides have praised Mr. Snow, the former chief at railroad giant CSX, but have refused to say whether he would remain in his job.“I’m not going to get into talking about individual members of the Cabinet,” White House press secretary Scott McClellan said.“The secretary views his service to the president as an honor and a privilege. Like all his Cabinet colleagues, he serves at the pleasure of the president,” said Rob Nichols, a Treasury Department spokesman, of Mr. Snow.The former rail chief took over the job in early February 2003, replacing Paul O’Neill, who was fired by Mr. Bush as part of a shake-up of the president’s economic team.Congressional sources say it would be unlikely for Mr. Snow to leave in the middle of the Social Security and tax reform efforts, so if he is to go, it is likely to be sooner rather than later.Mr. Gutierrez is credited with shaping a major corporate overhaul at Kellogg, narrowing the company’s primary focus to cereal and wholesome snacks. He reduced the company’s debt, and under his leadership Kellogg’s net sales rose 43% to $8.8 billion last year, from $6.2 billion in 1999.According to the Associated Press, Mr. Gutierrez isn’t a major Republican fund-raiser or donor.He made $10,500 in campaign donations at the federal level in the 2003-04 election cycle, including $4,000 to the U.S.-Cuba Democracy PAC and $6,500 to Republican congressional candidates.

Gutierrez Tapped To Lead Commerce

Gutierrez Tapped To Lead Commerce

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