Department of the Treasury . . . Secretary of Treasury
President George W. Bush nominated John William Snow to be the
73rd Secretary of the Treasury on January 13, 2003 . The United
States Senate unanimously confirmed Snow to the position on January
30, 2003 and he was sworn into office on February 3, 2003 . As
Secretary of the Treasury, Snow works closely with President Bush
on a broad array of economy policy issues.
Before coming to Treasury, Snow was Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer of CSX Corporation, where he successfully guided the global
transportation company through a period of tremendous change.
During Snow’s twenty years at CSX, he led the Corporation
to refocus on its core railroad business, dramatically reduce
injuries and train accidents, and improve its financial performance.
Snow’s previous public service includes having served at
the Department of Transportation as Administrator of the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Deputy Undersecretary,
Assistant Secretary for the Governmental Affairs, and Deputy Assistant
Secretary for Policy, Plans and International Affairs.
Snow served as Chairman of the Business Roundtable, the foremost
business policy group comprised of 250 chief executive officers
of the nation's largest companies. During his tenure as Chairman
from 1994 through 1996, he played a major role in supporting passage
of the North American Free Trade Agreement and working on the
deficit reduction agreement.
Snow is also recognized as a leading champion of improved corporate
governance practices. He is a former co-chairman of the influential
Conference Board's Blue-Ribbon Commission on Public Trust and
Private Enterprise. He also served as co-chairman of the National
Commission on Financial Institution Reform, Recovery and Enforcement
in 1992 that made recommendations following the savings and loan
crisis.
John Snow was born in Toledo, Ohio, on August 2, 1939, and
graduated in 1962 from the University of Toledo. He later earned
a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Virginia where he
studied under two Nobel Prize winners. Snow graduated with a law
degree from the George Washington University in 1967 and then
taught economics at the University of Maryland, University of
Virginia, as well as law at George Washington. He also served
as a Visiting Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in 1977
and a Distinguished Fellow at the Yale School of Management from
1978 until 1980.
