Wilbur Ross, former WL Ross and Co. chairman and chief strategy officer, has taken his official oath of office as the 39th secretary of commerce during a ceremony headed by Vice President Mike Pence.
The Commerce Department said Tuesday Ross will work to help local businesses and entrepreneurs have access to resources necessary to drive the creation of jobs, economic growth and sustainable development.
“With Wilbur Ross as our new secretary of commerce, the President and I are confident that the Department of Commerce is going to take its right and leading role in fostering the growth that will create good-paying jobs for every American,” said Pence.
Ross succeeds Penny Pritzker as commerce secretary and brings more than 55 years of experience in investment banking and private equity as chairman or lead director at more than 100 companies around the world.
He has helped restructure at least $400 billion in assets in the airline, banking, insurance, marine transport, oil and gas, shipping, steel, textiles and other industries, the Commerce Department said.
He has been elected into the Private Equity Hall of Fame and the Turnaround Management Hall of Fame, was privatization adviser to Rudy Giuliani when he was mayor of New York City and was appointed by then-President Bill Clinton to the U.S.-Russia Investment Fund board.
