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 The president and his top advisers have kept an open door for CEOs
of Fortune 100 companies, keeping almost 1,000 appointments with
them, a Reuters review of White House records shows. Of the hundreds
of appointments listed, Obama himself was present at about half,
ranging from intimate Oval Office gatherings to lavish state
dinners. Obama is the first U.S. president to make White House
visitor logs public.
"That number is the tip of the iceberg," said Valerie Jarrett,
Obama's longest-serving senior adviser who runs his Office of Public
Engagement. The president and his aides also regularly meet with
representatives from the rest of the Fortune 500, as well as small-
and medium-sized businesses, both in Washington and around the
country, she said. The Reuters review included only the Fortune 100
list of largest companies, and was limited to White House meetings.
Following tensions between the White House and business during the
financial crisis, a turning point in the relationship came after the
debt ceiling impasse in 2011 and the subsequent "fiscal cliff" of
tax hikes and spending cuts in 2012, Jarrett said. Business leaders
were alarmed that Congress seemed ready to blow through fiscal
deadlines in spite of the effect on stock markets and the U.S.
credit rating, and partnered with the White House to urge an end to
the drama.
Since then, CEOs and the White House have become allies in
advocating for immigration reform, the Trans-Pacific Partnership
trade deal and reauthorization for the Export-Import Bank.
"I do take a fair amount of grief from Republican colleagues who
think that I've just like totally lost my mind," said Honeywell
International Inc's David Cote, 63, the most frequent CEO visitor to
Obama's White House, having turned up more than 50 times.
Cote was part of a high-profile commission on the nation's debt in
2010 and serves on another advisory panel on technology and
manufacturing. He said he thinks CEOs should not delegate their
responsibility to help politicians understand business. "You've got
to be able to talk about this stuff and have both sides understand
the needs of the other," he said.
Cote, a life-long Republican, said he doesn't always agree with
Obama but enjoys talking with him, calling him "a very smart guy"
who doesn't get enough credit for his work on the economy. For Obama
and his advisers, spending time with CEOs means gaining valuable
insights, while gaining support for various policies. For CEOs,
White House encounters may produce tangible business benefits, not
to mention providing an opportunity to hobnob with the most powerful
man in the world.
Reuters contacted the companies whose CEOs were among the top 30
White House visitors. Many declined comment. Some noted their chiefs
were involved with advisory councils on jobs, trade and
manufacturing, while noting that CEOs often discuss the same issues
with lawmakers from both parties in the U.S. Congress.
The White House has tapped individual CEOs for help on policies
where there is "alignment" of views, extracting a mountain of
corporate pledges to bolster its policies to boost wages, provide
more opportunities for young men of color, foster science and math
in schools, increase diversity in the technology sector, and enhance
college and training programs, among other initiatives.
 Obama has bolstered his arguments for an international deal to curb
climate change by securing promises from U.S. companies like Intel,
Johnson & Johnson and Apple to reduce waste and use more renewable
energy. The logs show CEOs from large manufacturing and industrial
companies have commanded more White House meetings than other
sectors. Early on in Obama’s presidency, visits by bankers and
health insurance executives predominated, reflecting the president's
focus on addressing the 2008 financial crisis and reforming health
care. Technology and telecom CEOs have also been regulars at 1600
Pennsylvania Avenue. It's not all business. For example, Cote
attended a Super Bowl party in 2010, an inauguration after-party in
2013, and in October, a concert featuring Buddy Guy, Smokey Robinson
and James Taylor.
IBM Corp executives hold the record for the most invitations to
state dinners during the Obama administration, with CEO Virginia
Rometty present at a September dinner with Chinese President Xi
Jinping and at the March 2012 dinner for UK Prime Minister David
Cameron. Her predecessor CEO Sam Palmisano was at the June 2011
dinner for German Chancellor Angela Merkel. IBM declined comment for
this article.
MEETING OF THE MINDS
To be sure, while Obama and corporate chieftains may have a meeting
at the White House, there may not be a meeting of the minds. "We are
not their advocates unless there is an alignment of interest,"
Jarrett said.
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For instance, in October, Obama announced he would deny an
application for the Keystone XL crude oil pipeline from Canada
because it would undermine his position to lead climate talks. The
project was supported by a wide range of U.S. businesses.
That decision showed that White House meetings only go so far, said
John Engler, president of the Business Roundtable, which represents
CEOs of large companies.
"Sometimes it can be helpful. Sometimes - you saw the Keystone
decision - it doesn't have much impact," he said. On other issues,
Obama has lined up squarely with business, raising eyebrows among
both traditional Democratic allies and populist conservative
Republicans. Examples include his second-term drive for a sprawling
trade deal with Asia and his defense of the Export-Import Bank
against its opponents in Congress. At the end of a session with some
CEOs in February 2011, one attendee recalled how a chief executive
told Obama that two new Environmental Protection Agency rules would
push U.S. semiconductor manufacturing offshore. Obama listened, said
the issue was new to him and asked senior staffers to inquire.
Within days, the EPA had heard from the White House. Weeks later,
the problem was resolved, said the attendee, who requested anonymity
to describe the private meeting. The logs provide a snapshot of
corporate power and influence, said John Wonderlich, policy director
for the Sunlight Foundation, a nonprofit good-government advocacy
group. "There's a concern when you have the people with the most
power and who control huge industries and companies, that the
president ends up spending an enormous amount of time worrying about
their views," he said.
INNER SANCTUM INVITE
The logs show that Obama has most often met with CEOs in groups of
11 to 20 people in the Roosevelt Room, but on occasion also in the
State Dining Room, the Old Family Dining Room, and even the
Situation Room. There were 95 such appointments with this pool of
Fortune 100 CEOs. As White House meetings go, a group conference in
the Roosevelt Room is good, but the big prize is an invitation to
the Oval Office, the president's inner sanctum. For a select few,
that might even include lunch in his private dining room.
The logs show only a handful of CEOs have landed one-on-one visits
in the Oval Office with the president, including Honeywell's Cote,
former Wal Mart Stores Inc CEO Michael Duke, former Intel CEO Paul
Otellini, Merck & Co Inc's Ken Frazier, AT&T Inc's Randall
Stephenson, and FedEx Corp's Fred Smith.
Berkshire Hathaway's Warren Buffett and JPMorgan Chase & Co's Jamie
Dimon have visited the Oval Office twice each. The logs showed that
22 Fortune 100 CEOs have been to the White House only once or not at
all. Phillips 66 CEO Greg Garland does not appear to have had any
meetings, for example. A spokesman said senior company leaders and
other employees meet with the Obama administration "on a number of
issues," but declined to elaborate.
Halliburton Co CEO David Lesar has not been to the White House
during Obama's tenure, according to the logs. The company's previous
CEO was Dick Cheney, who went on to become vice-president in George
W. Bush's Republican White House. Halliburton declined comment.
Others delegate government relations to staff and lobbyists. "Some
CEOs despise Washington, think it's all a gimmick, and don't see any
return on the invested effort," said Bruce Mehlman, a lobbyist at
bipartisan firm Mehlman Castagnetti.
Mehlman, whose Technology CEO Council client has met with the
president on several occasions, said he thinks ignoring Washington
is a lost opportunity, however. "When you meet with a president who
is as prepared, engaged and focused as President Obama is when he
meets with CEOs, you can make significant progress advancing new
ideas or getting things that are stuck, unstuck," he said.
(Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and John Pickering)
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