Anyone who works in tech policy hears the rumors about this and that tech executive who wants to run for Senate or grab a sweet ambassadorship. The Carly Fiorina rumors were getting pretty intense the last few years.
Stand Alone Journalist Chris Nolan tells us in eWeek why the Bush Administration should jump at the chance to appoint Fiorina as the head of the World Bank. Exerpts...
"To get the job, Fiorina won't face any messy Senate confirmation hearings. Even if she did, it's unlikely they'd be too difficult. Overseeing a bad merger and a falling stock price doesn't mean much to politicians. The World Bank president—right now Paul Wolfensohn, scheduled to retire in June—is nominated by the president of the United States and approved by the bank's 189 member nations.
"If she gets the job, Fiorina will be free to do as she wants, pretty much. Although the bank has a global economic role and is regularly scrutinized by a host of groups, from development agencies to environmental and labor organizations, its presidents set their own schedules and agendas....
"...the World Bank would be an almost perfect place for Fiorina to mend her reputation. A stint at a nonprofit, doing good works, is always a good way for a well-known person to improve his or her public standing."
Hmmm. Not so sure about the public standing bit. Quick: Name the last three people to run the World Bank. Okay, name one. You get our point.
Still, Nolan is right on here:
"Having someone at the World Bank who really appreciates the interconnectedness of global economics can only be a step in the right direction for the bank and for U.S. foreign policy. Its absence is something the tech community has bemoaned for some time now."
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