Senate committee moves top management nomination forward

Zients, also President Obama's choice for the new chief performance officer position, which does not require Senate confirmation, is a well-known business management consultant and entrepreneur. He served as chairman of the Washington-based research and consulting firms the Advisory Board Co. and the Corporate Executive Board, and founded an investment firm, Portfolio Logic, in 2004.

During Zients' confirmation hearing, committee chairman Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., said his nomination showed Obama's commitment to making management excellence a top priority.

"[Zients] has spent most of his career devising ways to improve governance, organization, management, efficiencies and the financial systems of companies," Lieberman said. "Now we will look forward to him developing best practices in those areas for federal departments and agencies."

Ranking member Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said Zients must call on his private sector experience to be effective in his new roles.

The panel approved Zients by a voice vote. His nomination now moves to the full Senate.