White House officials have approached American Express Co. ChiefExecutive Officer Kenneth Chenault about joining President BarackObama's second-term administration, possibly as Treasury secretary,according to two people familiar with the matter.

White House Chief of Staff Jack Lew remains the leadingcontender for the Treasury job, the people said. Still,consideration of Chenault among Obama's staff may indicate thepresident hasn't made a final decision on a replacement forTreasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, who has said he plans toleave the post.

Other potential roles for Chenault, a longtime Obama supporter,may be as Commerce secretary or as a senior adviser to thepresident, according to the people, who asked for anonymity todiscuss internal administration deliberations. White Houseofficials have also considered Xerox Corp. CEO Ursula Burns as apotential nominee for the Commerce Department job, both of thepeople said.

In addition to the top jobs at Treasury and Commerce, Obama willbe filling openings at the State and Defense Departments as heremakes his economic, national security and foreign policy teamsfor the next four years.

The White House declined to comment on the potentialnominations.

Seeking to accelerate economic growth and repair a relationshipwith the business community frayed by first-term battles over taxesand regulation, Obama has said he would like to have a high-levelexecutive join his administration. Administration officials havesaid the Commerce Department is a natural spot for such anexecutive.

Chenault, 61, and Burns, 54, are members of the President'sCouncil on Jobs and Competitiveness and have been frequentlyconsulted by Obama on the economy.

“From the beginning, Chenault was an important outside voicefrom the business world that the President always liked hearingfrom,” said Austan Goolsbee, a former chairman of Obama's Councilof Economic Advisers. “On matters of financial markets or consumerbehavior, Chenault always seemed able to identify trends 6-12months ahead of time.”

Since 1989, Chenault and his wife have contributed $139,250 toDemocrats and $5,700 to Republicans, according to the Center forResponsive Politics in Washington.

Burns has donated $26,750 to Democrats, about 88 percent of hertotal political giving, according to the center, which trackscampaign finance. For Obama's State of the Union address in 2011,she sat with First Lady Michele Obama to watch the speech.

Business Influence

Mike O'Neill, a spokesman at American Express, declined tocomment on a possible Chenault role in the administration. KarenArena, a Xerox spokeswoman, said Burns “has no plans to leave herleadership position at Xerox.”

During the presidential campaign, Obama said the governmentneeded a “secretary of business,” to coordinate interactionsbetween businesses and government agencies and streamline thefederal regulatory process.

Cabinet officers are subject to Senate confirmation. In aninterview after his re-election, Obama said the hearings, scrutinyand paperwork involved have made some executives reluctant to enterpublic service.

“One of the biggest problems we've got in terms of recruitingbusiness leaders into the administration is the confirmationprocess has become so miserable, so drawn out, that for successfulfolks to want to put themselves through that process, you know, alot of folks are just shying away,” the president said in theBloomberg Television interview.

For other top Cabinet posts, Massachusetts Senator John Kerry,chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, is the leadingcontender to succeed Hillary Clinton as secretary of state andformer Republican Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska has emerged as atop candidate to follow Leon Panetta as secretary of defense,according to administration officials and people familiar with thedeliberation.

Obama may announce the nominations of Kerry and Hagel this week,according to the administration officials, who spoke on conditionof anonymity.

Obama may also try to fill a job on his team with Richard Levin,an economist who announced he will retire as president of YaleUniversity, according to one of the people. Levin previously wasconsidered to serve as director of the National Economic Council, ajob now held by Gene Sperling.

Levin, reached by phone, declined to comment.

Another possibility to join the administration is Byron Auguste,a director at McKinsey & Co. who runs their social sectorpractice in Washington, said the person. Auguste did not respond tocalls for comment.

Bloomberg News

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