Analysis: Why Obama’s pick for Interior Secretary is a shrewd move

On the face of it, US President Barack Obama’s nomination of Sally Jewell to head up the Interior Department, which manages the country’s massive portfolio of public land use, is an unconventional one.

Jewell has worked exclusively in the private sector—she’s currently the CEO of REI, which sells sporting and outdoor goods—whereas interior secretaries are almost always politicians, like the outgoing incumbent, Ken Salazar. Jewell’s CV includes extensive experience in the oil and banking industries, suggesting a “pro-business” background that Republicans typically prize more than Democrats.

But Obama needs someone who can “get” business enough to make smart calls on hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”), but also share his policy priorities on conservation and renewable energy.

Read the rest at Quartz.