Obama to name REI chief Sally Jewell for US interior secretary
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In this photo taken on April 21, 2010, Sally Jewell, the president and chief executive of Recreational Equipment Inc (REI), speaks at the Fortune Brainstorm Green conference in Laguna Niguel, California. President Barack Obama will nominate Jewell as the next US interior secretary, an administration official said on Wednesday, Feb 6, 2013. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - President Barack Obama will nominate the chief executive of Recreational Equipment, Sally Jewell, as the next US interior secretary, an administration official said on Wednesday.
Jewell would replace Ken Salazar, who said he did not intend to stay for Obama's second term. She is the first woman Obama has announced for his second-term Cabinet and also lends credentials from the nation's West.
Obama is expected to announce the nomination later on Wednesday. The Washington Post first reported the nomination.
Jewell, a former banking executive, joined the national outdoor retail chain as a board member in 1996 before taking over as chief operating officer in 2000 and then later as CEO.
