Duke grad named White House budgetary director

A Duke graduate will now serve as acting head of national budgetary policy.

President Barack Obama appointed Jeffrey Zients, Trinity ’88 and deputy director for management of the Office of Management and Budget, as acting director of the OMB Tuesday, according to a White House news release. In his new position, Zients will assess and seek to improve the White House’s budgetary performance. Zients follows current director Jacob Lew, who will become the White House chief of staff this month.

“I’m pleased to designate Jeff Zients to lead the Office of Management and Budget,” Obama said in the release. “Since day one, Jeff has demonstrated superb judgment and has provided sound advice on a whole host of issues. With decades of experience, Jeff has been a tremendous asset to our team, and I’m confident in his ability to help us rebuild an economy where hard work and responsibility pay off and the middle class has a chance to get ahead.”

Zients was confirmed by the Senate as deputy director and the first federal chief performance officer in June 2009, and has previously served as acting director of the OMB from July to November 2010. He was also the CEO and chairman of the Advisory Board Company and chairman of the Corporate Executive Board. Both firms offer consulting services related to performance benchmarking and management best practices, the release noted.

Zients is also a co-founder and board member emeritus at Urban Alliance Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that provides job assistance for underprivileged youth. The foundation works with corporations to offer high school seniors paid internships, adult mentors and training.