Jeff Zients
Jeffrey Dunston Zients (/ˈzaɪənts/; born November 12, 1966) is an American business executive and government official, serving as the 31st White House chief of staff in the administration of U.S. president Joe Biden. Earlier in the Biden administration, he served as counselor to the president and White House coronavirus response coordinator from January 2021 to April 2022.
Jeff Zients | |
|---|---|
| 31st White House Chief of Staff | |
| Assumed office February 8, 2023 | |
| President | Joe Biden |
| Deputy | Jen O'Malley Dillon Bruce Reed Natalie Quillian |
| Preceded by | Ron Klain |
| Counselor to the President | |
| In office January 20, 2021 – April 5, 2022 Serving with Steve Ricchetti | |
| President | Joe Biden |
| Preceded by | Hope Hicks Derek Lyons |
| White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator | |
| In office January 20, 2021 – April 5, 2022 | |
| 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 | |
| President | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Gene Sperling |
| Succeeded by | Gary Cohn |
| Director of the Office of Management and Budget | |
| Acting January 27, 2012 – April 24, 2013 | |
| President | Barack Obama |
| Deputy | Heather Higginbottom |
| Preceded by | Jack Lew |
| Succeeded by | Sylvia Mathews Burwell |
| Acting July 30, 2010 – November 18, 2010 | |
| 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 | |
| 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 | |
| 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) |
During the presidency of Barack Obama, Zients served as director of the National Economic Council from February 2014 to January 2017, served as acting director of the Office of Management and Budget in 2010 and from 2012 to 2013, and led the emergency effort to fix healthcare.gov after the troubled launch of that critical component of the Affordable Care Act.
Before entering government, Zients was an executive at firms including the Advisory Board Company and CEB. Zients joined the Biden administration after taking leave from his position as chief executive officer of Cranemere, an investment firm. He was a member of Facebook's board of directors from 2018 to 2020.