Mixing up your agency chiefs

Washington Notebook

By Eric Kulisch
   Former Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge recently gave credit to the wrong leader of Customs for working to smooth commerce at the Canadian border during his tenure.
   Talking at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce a couple days ago about the importance of enhancing border security without burdening cross-border trade, the ex-governor of Pennsylvania referred to an initiative in 2005 to reduce border wait times between Detroit and Windsor, Canada, by 25 percent.
   The cities are connected by the Ambassador Bridge, the largest commercial truck crossing in the world, and the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel.

Ridge

Ridge, who heads the eponymous risk management firm Ridge Global and chairs the chamber's National Security Task Force, noted that public-private cooperation to change procedures led to a 55 percent improvement in throughput. Customs and Border Protection reassigned officers to cover more booths at the main plaza at different times; the Canada Border Services Agency added personnel; and companies changed their delivery schedules.

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   Ridge praised Ralph Basham, who was present for a broader discussion on homeland security issues, for implementing the changes and having the foresight to work with the business community.
   There's only one problem.
   Basham did not serve under Ridge. He worked for DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff, who replaced Ridge in 2005.
   Basham came over from the Secret Service to lead CBP in mid-2006.
   The commissioner at the time Ridge referred to was Robert Bonner.

Buffett succession plan could include Rose

Rose

   Matt Rose, chairman and chief executive officer of Burlington Northern Santa Fe, is considered one of the nation's top executives after steering the holding company for 10 years and making the BNSF Railway one of the healthiest freight railroads in the country.
   Legendary investor Warren Buffett certainly took notice and invested $34 billion to buy the company and take it private last year.
   Rose's name has surfaced as a potential successor to the Oracle of Omaha as head of the Berkshire Hathaway investment firm.

Buffett

   Bloomberg Businessweek in its May 2 issue named Rose, 52, and three other executives who head companies in the Berkshire Hathaway portfolio as candidates for the empire's top spot after Buffet prot'g' David Sokol, the heir apparent, resigned from the company after misleading it about his personal stake in a chemical manufacturer Berkshire Hathaway is buying on his recommendation.
   Sokol was chairman of MidAmerican Holding Co., a large utility, and CEO of NetJets, which offers fractional ownership of executive aircraft.
   In a February letter to investors, Rose was one of several managers that Buffett praised. ' Eric Kulisch

FreightWaves Staff