Barry Lee Myers
| Barry Lee Myers | |
|---|---|
| Under Secretary of Commerce (Oceans and Atmosphere) | |
|
Assuming office | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Succeeding | Kathryn D. Sullivan |
| Personal details | |
| Education |
Central High School Pennsylvania State University (JD) |
| Occupation | CEO of AccuWeather, Inc. |
Barry Lee Myers is an American attorney and businessman who currently serves as chief executive officer of AccuWeather,[1] a company founded by his elder brother, Joel Myers.
Background
Myers is a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A graduate of Philadelphia's Central High School, he received his B.S. in business administration and economics from Pennsylvania State University and his J.D. from Boston University School of Law. Myers served for 18 years on the graduate school faculty of Pennsylvania State University's Smeal College of Business.[1]
Pior to becoming CEO of AccuWeather in September 2007, Myers served as the company's executive vice president and general counsel. Since 1990, Myers has been a member of the board of directors of the American Weather and Climate Industry Association,[2] the weather industry's trade association, serving as the industry's chief federal-relations office. Myers also served as an advisor to the director of the U.S. National Weather Service at the U.N.'s World Meteorological Organization Meetings in Geneva, Switzerland, in 2001 and 2008.[3]
Political activities
Myers has donated to the campaigns of Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and Mitt Romney.[4] Myers also donated to Rick Santorum's campaigns for U.S. Senate.[4] In 2005, Santorum sponsored a bill entitled the National Weather Service Duties Act of 2005, which failed to pass.[4][5] Myers publicly supported the bill, which would have required the National Weather Service to stop providing weather information to the general public.[4]
Nomination to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
On October 12, 2017, President Donald Trump nominated Myers to head the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.[6] Myers has said he will liquidate his holdings in the family-owned company.[4] His brothers will remain as the president, chairman of the board, and chief operating officer of AccuWeather.[4]
Myers was selected for the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere position by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.[4] Myers deputies will include Assistant Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere Timothy Gallaudet, a Navy Rear Admiral with a doctorate in oceanography, and Assistant Secretary for Environmental Observation and Prediction Neil Jacobs, who was chief atmospheric scientist at the Panasonic Avionics Corporation.[7]
If confirmed, Myers will be the second NOAA administrator without a science degree, and the first since Richard A. Frank left office in 1981.[8] The agency employee's labor union opposes Myers nomination, citing his support of the Santorum bill.[4]
References
- 1 2 Newswire / Press Release: AccuWeather Names Barry Lee Myers Chief Executive Officer - Broadcast/TV/Radio - AccuWeather, Inc. | NewswireToday Archived December 18, 2010, at WebCite
- ↑ Welcome To CWSA Archived June 6, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Dickson, Glen (June 10, 2009). "NOAA Recruits AccuWeather Chief". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Restuccia, Andrew (12 October 2017). "Trump's pick for NOAA chief causes a storm". Politico. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
- ↑ S. 786 109th Cong. (2005).
- ↑ Shepardson, David (October 12, 2017). "White House nominates AccuWeather CEO to head climate agency". Reuters. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
- ↑ Voosen, Paul (12 October 2017). "AccuWeather's Barry Myers nominated to lead NOAA". Science. doi:10.1126/science.aar1985. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
- ↑ Samenow, Jason (12 October 2017). "Trump taps AccuWeather CEO to head NOAA, breaking with precedent of nominating scientists". The Washington Post. Retrieved 14 October 2017.