Obama Nominates NEW OPM Chief

Beth Cobert may become the new head of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management if President Obama has his way.

The president has nominated the now acting director of OPM to officially take over the agency and become OPM director. Ms. Cobert became acting director following the resignation of former OPM director Katherine Archuleta.

Ms. Archuleta stepped down after receiving a barrage of criticism from the public and Congress for her handling of the agency’s cyberattacks. Millions of federal workers’ personal and financial information were stolen during a series of cyberattacks.

Those attacks likely originated from sources outside the U.S. We reported extensively about those attacks on this blog. We also provided tips on how to secure your identity if it was stolen during the attacks.

Ms. Archuleta resigned in July. Ms. Cobert was soon appointed to fill her position. She has served as “acting” director since then.

From 2013 to 2015, Ms. Cobert was Deputy Director for Management and U.S. Chief Performance Officer at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

The president has nominated her to take over the reins at OPM, but that must be approved by Congress.

“Beth will bring tremendous depth and quality of experience to her role as Director of the Office of Personnel Management,” President Obama said in a statement, according to The Washington Post.

“As Acting Director, Beth has effectively pursued strategies to strengthen cybersecurity and improve the way the government serves citizens, businesses, and the federal workforce both past and present.”

Prior to her stints at OMB and OPM, Ms. Cobert worked for nearly 30 years at McKinsey & Company.

McKinsey & Company is a “global management consulting firm that serves leading businesses, governments, non-governmental organizations, and not-for-profits,” according to their website.

She has an MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business and a BA from Princeton University.