DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION COVERAGE: Watch this space for frequent updates!
Home > Window on Washington > Archives > 2008 > July > 16 > Entry
Texan Gottesman returns to White House
Former presidential personal aide Blake Gottesman, who left the White House in 2006 to pick up a Harvard MBA, now has that degree and is returning to the administration in a post further up the organizational chart.
The White House today announced that Gottesman, a native of Austin, is now an “assistant to the president” and “deputy chief of staff,” replacing longtime Bush aide Joe Hagin, who recently announced his upcoming departure. Hagin has had a broad portfolio - including overseeing major projects such as remodeling of the White House press area and the super-secret situation room. Hagin also has been instrumental in working out details of Bush foreign trips.
Says Press Secretary Dana Perino, Gotteman is “a trusted aide who understands the tremendous challenges overseeing White House operations.”
“He is well-respected in the White House,” says Perino, “and will do an outstanding job to help ensure the staff continues to effectively serve the American people throughout the remainder of the president’s administration.”
Gottesman, 28, has been working in Boston at Berkshire Partners LLC.
In his previous White House incarnation, he spent four years with the unofficial title of “body man,” a post that put him in close contact with Bush many hours a day, often seven days a week. He delivered presidential speeches to the podium, loaded Bush’s iPod and took care of a large portfolio of tasks aimed at making Bush’s days go smoothly.
The job put him in close contact with Bush at many crucial moments, including 9/11.
His departure in May 2006 raised an eyebrow or two because he was headed for graduate studies at Harvard Business School - a Bush alma mater - though he had done only one year of undergraduate work at Claremont McKenna College in California.
Comments