William M. Daley

William Michael “Bill” Daley, born August 9, 1948 is an American lawyer and former banker. He served as White House Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama from January 2011 until January 2012. He also served as U.S. Secretary of Commerce from 1997 to 2000 under President Bill Clinton. His private-sector positions included membership on the Executive Committee of JPMorgan Chase & Co.


He was born in Chicago, Illinois, and is the seventh and youngest child of the late Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley and Eleanor "Sis" Daley. He is also the brother of former Illinois legislator John P. Daley and former Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley.
He graduated with a B.A. from Loyola University Chicago, and an LL.B. law degree from John Marshall Law School. Daley later accepted an honorary Doctor of Law degree from John Marshall Law School. Except for a period from 1977 to 1980, during which time he sat on the Advisory Council of Economic Opportunity, Daley practiced law privately with the firm Daley and George.


He became associated with Amalgamated Bank of Chicago, where he was first vice chairman (1989–1990) and then president and chief operating officer (1990–1993). Daley returned to the practice of law, as a partner with the firm Mayer Brown (then Mayer, Brown & Platt) from 1993 to 1997.
Daley was appointed to the board of Fannie Mae in 1993 by President Bill Clinton, where he served until 1997.
In December 2001, following his service as U.S. Secretary of Commerce under President Clinton, he was appointed President of SBC Communications to help reform the company's image. In May 2004, Daley was made the Midwest Chairman of JPMorgan Chase, following its acquisition of Bank One Corporation, to oversee its operations from Chicago. Daley formerly served on the Board of Directors of Boeing, Merck & Co., Boston Properties, and Loyola University Chicago. He is currently a trustee of Northwestern University and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.


On January 6, 2011 President Barack Obama named Daley as his next White House Chief of Staff, and he took office on January 13, 2011. Daley succeeded Rahm Emanuel, who served as Chief of Staff during the first two years of the President's term and left the position in October 2010 to run to succeed Daley's brother as Mayor of Chicago, and Pete Rouse, who was serving as the interim Chief of Staff.
In March 2011, speaking for the Obama administration on Meet the Press, Daley said the administration will consider using the Strategic Petroleum Reserve if rising oil prices caused by turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa threaten the U.S. economy. Daley said Obama “is very concerned; we’re trying to look at all the possible options.” He repeated the administration’s stance that there is enough output capacity in the world to deal with any disruptions from Libya.




Daley, in the midnight blue navy suit and blue tie, standing with the U.S. national security team gathered in the Situation Room to monitor the progress of Operation Neptune Spear.
Daley was photographed in the White House Situation Room photograph taken on May 1, 2011 by Pete Souza.
In October 2011 Daley said he plans to return home to Chicago after President Obama makes it through his re-election. “I made a commitment to put the president through his re-election, which I’m confident he will do, and then my wife and I will be back in Chicago.
On January 9, 2012, it was announced that Daley would resign as Obama's Chief of Staff. Jacob Lew was announced as his successor.