(August 18, 2011) CalChamber President and CEO Allan Zaremberg yesterday applauded Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. for appointing Michael E. Rossi as the Governor’s senior jobs advisor.

“We look forward to working with Mr. Rossi to focus California policy makers on creating the certainty businesses need to invest in our economy and create jobs here,” Zaremberg said.

According to the Governor’s office, in this role, Rossi will be the point of contact between California’s business and workforce leaders and the administration; he will streamline and invigorate the state’s economic development infrastructure; and he will advise Governor Brown on regulatory, legislative and executive actions needed to drive job growth.

“The first order of business must be to do no more harm to our economy and investment climate, particularly by stopping job killing legislation or bills that hurt our competitiveness,” said Zaremberg. “The short-term agenda for job creation must include correcting the negatives in our jobs climate, like our high-cost regulatory and litigation policies, and bolster our positives, including our exceptional higher education system. This appointment is an important step in the right direction.”

Zaremberg noted that Rossi’s background will be very helpful in his new capacity. “Mr. Rossi’s long and varied career as a businessman and investor will serve the Governor well in identifying barriers to job creation and addressing the perceptions and reality of our difficult business climate,” Zaremberg said.

Michael E. Rossi

Michael E. Rossi

From 2005 to 2008, Rossi served as an advisor and senior member of the operations team at Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. and as chairman and chief executive officer of Aozora Bank, taking it public in November 2006. From 2007 to 2008 he also served as chairman of GMAC Residential Capital, LLC. Rossi was retired from the private sector from 1997 to 2005. He was vice chairman and chief risk officer of BankAmerica Corporation and was the chairman of its Fiduciary and Investment Policy Committee from 1993 to 1997. Previously, he was BankAmerica's chief credit officer and held various executive positions, including running BankAmerica's Commercial Banking, Global Private Bank, Asia, Latin America, Commercial Real Estate, Corporate Real Estate, Personal and Corporate Trust and Cash Management divisions. He also served as the senior credit officer of BankAmerica’s World Banking Group.

Rossi currently serves on the Advisory Board of Shorenstein Properties LLC, the Court Appointed Special Advocates of Monterey County, Special Olympics Committee of Northern California and Claremont Graduate University. He is also a senior advisor to the San Francisco 49ers.

Rossi is a former director of North Hawaii Community Hospital, BAWAG Bank (Austria), Pulte Homes, American Bankers Association, Monterey Institute of International Studies, American Graduate School of International Management, University of California at Berkeley Art Museum, Del Webb Corporation, BlueLinx Corporation, San Francisco Opera, National Urban League, Union Pacific Resources, Lifesavers, American Diabetes Association of California and United Way of Northern California. He was a member of the nominating committee of the Bankers Association for Foreign Trade and was the president of its Board. He also served on the President's Campaign Cabinet for University of California at Berkeley.

He graduated from the University of California at Berkeley, received a B.A. in economics from Dartmouth University in 1963, and graduated from the Advanced Management Program of Harvard Business School in 1979.​