According to research by the International Monetary Fund, recessions following financial crises driven by a collapse in housing prices are historically more severe than those of a cyclical nature.
How can the new administration ensure that the US retains its competitive edge in the midst of a deep downturn in housing prices and a dramatic fall in consumer spending?
Bio
Ellen J. Kullman
Ellen J. Kullman, 53, is chief executive officer of DuPont. Kullmanis the 19th executive to lead the company in more than 205 years of DuPont History. She became president on Oct. 1, 2008, and CEO on Jan.1, 2009.
Prior to her appointment as DuPont president and CEO she served as executive vice president and a member of the company's office of the chief executive. Kullman was responsible for DuPont Coatings & Color Technologies; DuPont Electronic & Communication Technologies; DuPont Performance Materials; DuPont Safety & Protection; Marketing & Sales; Pharmaceuticals; Risk Management; and Safety & Sustainability. In March 2008, Kullman was tapped to lead the dynamic planning process for the company's growth in emerging international markets.
A native of Wilmington, Del., Kullman began her career at DuPont in 1988 as marketing manager in the Medical Imaging business. Following two years as business director for the X-ray Film business, she moved to Printing & Publishing as global business director, Electronic Imaging. In 1994, she joined White Pigment & Mineral Products as global business director and was named vice president and general manager in 1995. She assumed leadership of two high-growth businesses, DuPont Safety Resources in 1998 and Bio-Based Materials in 1999.
Kullman was named group vice president and general manager in 2000 with the addition of Corporate New Business Development and Intellectual Assets Licensing. In 2001 she assumed responsibility for DuPont Flooring Systems and DuPont Surfaces. She was named group vice president - DuPont Safety & Protection in February 2002. In June 2006 she was named executive vice president until her appointment as DuPont President and CEO.
Kullman is on the Board of Trustees at Tufts University, serves on the board of overseers at Tufts University School of Engineering. She is also on the Board of Trustees, National Safety Council.
Prior to joining DuPont, Kullman worked for General Electric in various business development and marketing positions. She holds a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from Tufts University and a masters degree in management from Northwestern University.
Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch is an Australian-American global media mogul. He is the major shareholder, chairman and managing director of News Corporation. He is ranked 13th most powerful person in the world in the 2010 Forbes' The World's Most Powerful People list.
Beginning with newspapers, magazines and television stations in his native Australia, Murdoch expanded News Corp into the UK, US and Asian media markets. In recent years has become a leading investor in satellite television, the film industry, the Internet and media. News Corp is based in New York.
Duncan L. Niederauer
Mr. Niederauer was appointed chief executive officer and director of NYSE Euronext, effective December 1, 2007, after joining NYSE Euronext in April 2007 as a member of the Management Committee. Mr. Niederauer also serves on the boards of NYSE Group and Euronext N.V.
Mr. Niederauer was previously a partner at The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (United States) ('GS') where he held many positions, among them, co-head of the Equities Division execution services franchise and the managing director responsible for Goldman Sachs Execution & Clearing, L.P. (formerly known as Spear, Leeds & Kellogg L.P.). Mr. Niederauer joined GS in 1985. From March 2002 until his resignation in February 2004, Mr. Niederauer also served on the board of managers of Archipelago Holdings, LLC (United States) and thereafter served as an observer to Archipelago's board of managers in a non-voting capacity until Archipelago's conversion to a Delaware corporation in August 2004.
Mr. Niederauer also serves on the board of trustees for Colgate University.
Michael Porter
Michael Porter is considered the world's greatest authority on competitive strategy and international competitiveness. He is a Harvard Business School Professor and currently heads the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness. An advisor to governments and businesses alike, Porter has led the Clusters for Innovation Project and currently co-chairs the Global Competitiveness Report.
He is the author of 18 books and 125 articles, receiving six McKinsey Awards for the best Harvard Business Review article of the year. His book Redefining Health Care was awarded the 2007 James A. Hamilton Award as the outstanding health care book of the year. He has also published influential work on philanthropy, the environment, and the economic role of the inner city.
In 2008, Porter received the first ever Lifetime Achievement Award from the United States Department of Commerce for his contribution to economic development.
David M. Rubenstein
David M. Rubenstein is co-founder and managing director of The Carlyle Group. Since its inception in 1987, the private equity firm has grown into managing more than $100 billion from 27 offices around the world. Rubenstein is chairman of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and president of the Economic Club of Washington.
He is a regent of the Smithsonian Institution and on the boards of directors or trustees for Duke University, Johns Hopkins University, University of Chicago, the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Institute for Advanced Study, the Brookings Institution, and several other organizations.
Rubenstein also serves on several academic councils and advisory boards. He has practiced law, served as chief counsel to the US Senate Judiciary Committee's subcommittee on constitutional amendments, and was President Jimmy Carter's deputy assistant for domestic policy.
Ronald A. Williams
Ronald A. Williams is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Aetna. He was elected Chairman of Aetna on October 1, 2006, and Chief Executive Officer on February 14, 2006, having served as President of the Company from May 27, 2002 until July 24, 2007 and as Executive Vice President and Chief of Health Operations from March 15, 2001 until his appointment as President.
Mr. Williams is a Director of American Express Company (financial services) and is a trustee of The Conference Board. He also serves on the Dean's Advisory Council at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is a member of MIT's Alfred P. Sloan Management Society.
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