Former Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) Chief Executive Richard Parsons is rumored to be under consideration to be the next Secretary of Commerce after New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson withdrew his name because of an ongoing investigation in his state.Parsons, who tangled with billionaire Carl Icahn during the recent proxy fight, already is an economic adviser to President-elect Barack Obama. He would make a great spokesman for American business during the current economic crisis.
In fact, Parsons is probably more suited for the job than Richardson, a career politician. Parsons does have baggage, though. You can expect service on corporate boards such as Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) to come up during his confirmation hearings.
Parsons joined Time Warner's board in 1991 and became CEO in 2002 after the problematic $124 billion merger with AOL (the parent company of this blog), which the company is still recovering from today. He deserves some credit for patching up the situation and settling costly investor lawsuits.
Should Parsons join the administration, he will not be the only former Time Warner employee to do so. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, the globe-trotting CNN medical correspondent, is slated to be Surgeon General.
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