Director Announces His Decision-Making Teams

Berkeley Lab Director Steve Chu has announced the establishment of two groups that will serve as his primary senior advisory bodies in decision-making and strategy development.

His Cabinet - comprised of Director Chu, Deputy Director Graham Fleming, Chief Operating Officer David McGraw, and the Assistant to the Director (Nancy Padgett, Acting) -- will hold "updates" at least three times a week to address urgent issues, plus immediate actions needed for broader strategic goals. Other participants will be invited as the issues warrant.

The Director's Senior Leadership Council (SLC) will replace the former Director's Action Committee (DAC). The Council, in addition to the Cabinet members, will include the four Associate Laboratory Directors - Paul Alivisatos (Physical Sciences), Joe Gray (Life and Environmental Sciences), Jim Siegrist (General Sciences), and Horst Simon (Computing Sciences) -- Chief Financial Officer Jeffrey Fernandez, Chief Information Officer Sandy Merola, Institutional Assurance Manager Jim Krupnick, and Manager of Planning and Strategic Development Mike Chartock, and Laboratory Counsel Glenn Woods (ex-officio). The SLC will provide the Director with advice, counsel and decision support on both tactical and strategic issues.

A third senior management gathering, the Division Directors Meeting (DDM), will continue much as before - regular meetings devoted to information exchange in both research and operations. The focus of DDM will generally be on emerging scientific and operational issues and will serve as a discussion forum to get decision support input and share important perspectives on relevant topics. All Division Directors, plus top managers in Operations departments, are members.