Jeff Zients facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jeff Zients
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Official portrait, 2023
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| 31st White House Chief of Staff | |
| In office February 8, 2023 – January 20, 2025 |
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| President | Joe Biden |
| Deputy |
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| Preceded by | Ron Klain |
| Succeeded by | Susie Wiles |
| Counselor to the President | |
| In office January 20, 2021 – April 5, 2022 Serving with Steve Ricchetti
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| President | Joe Biden |
| Preceded by | Hope Hicks Derek Lyons |
| White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator | |
| In office January 20, 2021 – April 5, 2022 |
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| President | Joe Biden |
| Deputy | Natalie Quillian |
| Preceded by | Deborah Birx |
| Succeeded by | Ashish Jha |
| 10th Director of the National Economic Council | |
| In office March 5, 2014 – January 20, 2017 |
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| President | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Gene Sperling |
| Succeeded by | Gary Cohn |
| Director of the Office of Management and Budget | |
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Acting
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| In office January 27, 2012 – April 24, 2013 |
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| President | Barack Obama |
| Deputy | Heather Higginbottom |
| Preceded by | Jack Lew |
| Succeeded by | Sylvia Mathews Burwell |
| In office July 30, 2010 – November 18, 2010 |
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| President | Barack Obama |
| Deputy | Jeffrey Liebman |
| Preceded by | Peter R. Orszag |
| Succeeded by | Jack Lew |
| 1st Chief Performance Officer of the United States | |
| In office June 19, 2009 – October 16, 2013 |
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| President | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Beth Cobert |
| Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget for Management | |
| In office June 19, 2009 – October 16, 2013 |
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| President | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Clay Johnson III |
| Succeeded by | Beth Cobert |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Jeffrey Dunston Zients
November 12, 1966 Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Mary Menell |
| Education | Duke University (BA) |
Jeffrey Dunston Zients (born November 12, 1966) is an important American government official and business leader. He has held several key roles in the U.S. government. From February 2023 to January 2025, Zients served as the 31st White House Chief of Staff, a very powerful position. Before that, he helped lead the country's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He was also a top advisor to President Joe Biden.
During the time Barack Obama was president, Zients worked as the director of the National Economic Council. He also served as the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget at different times. He even led the effort to fix the important healthcare.gov website after it had problems when it first launched.
Before working in government, Zients was a leader at several companies. He was also a member of the board of directors for Facebook.
Contents
Early Life and School
Jeff Zients was born in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. He grew up in a town called Kensington, Maryland.
He went to St. Albans School and finished in 1984. After that, he went to Duke University. He studied political science and graduated with very high honors in 1988.
Early Career in Business
After college, Zients worked as a consultant for companies like Mercer Management Consulting and Bain & Company. He enjoyed the teamwork and problem-solving in these jobs.
Later, he became the chief operating officer for DGB Enterprises. This company owned several other businesses, including the Advisory Board Company.
When he was 35, Fortune Magazine named Zients one of their "40 under 40" top young business leaders.
Leading Companies
Zients held important leadership roles at the Advisory Board Company. He was the chief operating officer, then the chief executive officer, and later the chairman. He also chaired the Corporate Executive Board.
He helped both of these companies become public, which means their shares could be bought and sold on the stock market. This made him a very successful businessman.
Investment and Boards
Zients also started his own investment firm called Portfolio Logic LLC. It focused on healthcare and business services. He served on the boards of directors for several other companies. These included XM Satellite Radio and Sirius XM Radio.
Baseball Team Bid
In 2005, Zients was part of a group that tried to buy the Washington Nationals baseball team. The group included famous people like Colin Powell. However, their bid was not successful, and another group bought the team.
Working for President Obama
Managing the Government's Money
In 2009, President Barack Obama asked Zients to join his team. He was given a new job called United States chief performance officer. He also became the deputy director for management of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). This was his first time working in government.
President Obama said Zients's job was to help the U.S. government run more smoothly. He was tasked with finding ways to save money and improve how things were done. The Senate approved his nomination in June 2009.
Zients also served as the acting director of the OMB for short periods in 2010 and from 2012 to 2013.
Fixing Healthcare.gov
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In 2013, the healthcare.gov website had many problems when it first launched. This website was a key part of the Affordable Care Act, which helps people get health insurance. President Obama asked Zients to lead the effort to fix the website. Zients worked hard to get the site working correctly.
Economic Advisor
From 2014 to 2017, Zients was a top economic advisor to President Obama. He directed the National Economic Council (NEC). This council helps the president make decisions about the economy.
The Wall Street Journal newspaper called Zients "a kind of ambassador to the business community." Many business groups liked that he listened to their concerns.
At the NEC, Zients worked on a rule that required financial advisors to act in their clients' best interest. This rule was controversial and later changed.
Back to Private Business
Role at Facebook
Zients joined the board of directors for Facebook in 2018. This was after a big event called the Cambridge Analytica scandal, which involved how user data was handled. While on the board, Zients helped oversee Facebook's financial reporting and risks.
He decided not to seek re-election to the board in 2020. He said he wanted to spend more time on his other business interests.
Cranemere Investment Firm
Zients became the CEO of Cranemere, an investment firm on Wall Street. He took a leave from this position when he joined the Biden administration.
He was also an investor in a popular bagel deli in Washington, D.C., called Call Your Mother.
Working for President Biden
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In 2020, Zients played a big role in the team preparing for Joe Biden to become president. He was seen as an important leader during this time.
On December 7, 2020, it was announced that Zients would be the coordinator for the country's COVID-19 response. He would also be a counselor to the president. When President Biden took office in January 2021, Zients's main job was to quickly create a plan for distributing COVID-19 vaccines.
In March 2022, Zients announced he would leave the Biden administration. Ashish Jha took over his role as Coronavirus Response Coordinator.
On January 22, 2023, news came out that Zients would become the new White House Chief of Staff. He officially started this important job on February 8, 2023. As Chief of Staff, he helps manage the White House and advises the president.
