SENATE CONFIRMED SAMUEL W. BODMAN TO BE SECRETARY OF ENERGY BY UNANIMOUS CONSENT

January 31, 2005
12:00 AM
Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Senate this afternoon confirmed Samuel W. Bodman as Secretary of Energy by unanimous consent. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee questioned Bodman at a January 19th confirmation hearing and unanimously approved his nomination at its business meeting on January 26, 2005. Chairman Domenici’s statement: “I congratulate Mr. Bodman on his swift Senate confirmation. I think the unanimous approval of the Senate reflects Mr. Bodman’s considerable success in the private sector and his outstanding service at Commerce and Treasury. Dr. Bodman is a dynamic leader who excels in any venture he undertakes. I look forward to working closely with him to deliver an energy bill to the President in the 109th Congress.” Samuel W. Bodman was recently the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Treasury. President Bush nominated Bodman to be the Deputy Secretary of the Treasury on December 9, 2003. The Senate unanimously confirmed him on February 12, 2004. Dr. Bodman previously served as Deputy Secretary of the Department of Commerce, beginning in 2001. Dr. Bodman is a financier and executive by trade, with three decades of experience in the private sector. An engineer by training, he had specific oversight over the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Patent and Trademark Office, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology while at DOC. Dr. Bodman’s work in the finance industry began when he was professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) and started consulting with the venture capital sector. He and his partners and associates provided financial and managerial support to scores of new business enterprises located throughout the United States. Virtually all of these companies had strong dependence on technology and innovation. Many of these achieved great financial success and established public markets for their securities. Born in 1938 in Chicago, he graduated in 1961 with a B.S. in chemical engineering from Cornell University. In 1965, he completed his ScD at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. For the next six years he served as an Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT and as Technical Director of the American Research and Development Corporation, a pioneer venture capital firm. From there, Dr. Bodman went to Fidelity Venture Associates, a division of the Fidelity Investments. In 1983 he was named President and Chief Operating Officer of Fidelity Investments and a Director of the Fidelity Group of Mutual Funds. In 1987, he joined Cabot Corporation, a Boston-based Fortune 300 company with global business activities in specialty chemicals and materials, where he served as Chairman, CEO, and a Director. Over the years, he has been a Director of many other publicly owned corporations. Secretary Bodman has also been active in public service. He is a former Director of M.I.T.'s School of Engineering Practice and a former member of the M.I.T. Commission on Education. He also served as a member of the Executive and Investment Committees at M.I.T., a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, and a Trustee of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and the New England Aquarium. Dr. Bodman is married to M. Diane Bodman. He has three children, two stepchildren, and eight grandchildren. He and his wife reside in Washington, D.C.