Obama Picks El-Erian to Head Global Development Council

Mohamed El-Erian
Joshua Roberts | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Mohamed El-Erian

Pimco CEO Mohamed A. El-Erian has been named chairman of President Barack Obama's Global Development Council, which was created to help boost global development.

El-Erian, 54, is also the bond giant's co-chief investment officer. He is a frequent guest on CNBC and has written many commentaries for CNBC.com.

El-Erian will continue in his current roles with Pimco.

El-Erian joined Pacific Investment Management Company in 1999 as a senior member of the portfolio management and investment strategy group. He worked for the International Monetary Fund for 15 years, including a two-year stint as deputy director.

The White House also announced eight other appointments to the council, which was created in February to help develop private-public partnerships: Richard C. Blum, chairman of Blum Capital Partners;

  • Sylvia Mathews Burwell, president of the Walmart Foundation;
  • Esther Duflo, economics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology;
  • Sarah Beardsley Degnan Kambou, president of the International Center for Research on Women;
  • James M. Manyika, director of the McKinsey Global Institute and a senior partner at McKinsey & Company;
  • William K. Reilly, senior Adviser to TPG;
  • Steven Schwager, retired CEO of the American Joint Distribution Committee;
  • Smita Singh, former director of the global development program at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.