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New SBA Administrator Sworn In

Jul 2006

Steven C. Preston has been sworn in as Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration. Preston, nominated to the position by President Bush, is a former business executive with broad experience in financial management and executive leadership. He is the 22nd Administrator of the SBA since the agency's establishment in 1953, succeeding Hector V. Barreto, who took office on July 25, 2001.

He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate by unanimous consent on June 29. The Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship had unanimously recommended Preston's confirmation earlier in the day.

“I am grateful to President Bush for the opportunity to serve in a way that so directly affects the lives of so many Americans,” Preston said. “I am also humbled by the bipartisan support I have received in Congress and am committed to fostering a strong relationship with the many stakeholders of the SBA.”

During his confirmation hearing on June 21, Preston emphasized the importance of sophisticated financial management, operational responsiveness and a customer service culture at the SBA. “None of this happens by accident,” he said. “It requires dogged focus to move the ball forward each and every day.”

Until recently, Preston was Executive Vice President of The ServiceMaster Company, a major franchising organization with thousands of small businesses in its network. Preston also had served as Chief Financial Officer.

He previously had been Senior Vice President and Treasurer of First Data Corporation, and an investment banker at Lehman Brothers.

He currently serves as vice chairman of the Board of Visitors for the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern University, and has served on numerous boards of philanthropic and other organizations.

Preston graduated with Highest Distinction from Northwestern University with a political science degree, and received an MBA from the University Of Chicago Graduate School Of Business. He also has studied at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat in Munich, Germany.