Former North Dakota Governor Ed Schafer (R) has been nominated by Pres. Bush as the new Agriculture Secretary. He will replace former Secretary Mike Johanns, who resigned his position on Sept. 23 to run for the U.S. Senate in the state of Nebraska. Schafer served as Governor of North Dakota from 1992 to 2000, as co-chair on agricultural issues for the National Governors Association in 1999, and as chairman of the Republican Governors Association in 2000. Acting USDA Secretary Chuck Conner will continue to serve in his current position until Schafer can be confirmed by the full Senate.
Pres. Bush recently announced his intention to nominate Carl T. Johnson as Administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) at the Department of Transportation. Johnson, who hails from Virginia, most recently served as President of the Compressed Gas Association (CGA). Prior to this, he served as Special Assistant to Rep. Amory Houghton (R-N.Y.). Earlier in his career, Johnson served as Director of Federal Government Relations at Corning Glass Works.
CF Industries Holdings Inc. has named Richard Hoker vice president and corporate controller. He succeeds Robert Webb, who retired earlier this year. Hoker, 43, was previously vice president and controller and principal accounting officer for Sara Lee Corp. He earlier held a number of senior accounting and financial positions at Sara Lee, which he joined 1996. Prior to joining Sara Lee, Hoker was a member of the Financial Advisory Consulting Services Group at Coopers & Lybrand LLP in Chicago (now PricewaterhouseCoopers). He also led teams in the firm’s Audit Practice.
A Certified Public Accountant, Hoker earned his B.S. in Accounting from DePaul University in Chicago and his M.B.A. in Finance and Accounting from the University of Chicago.