SmallBizResource Blog -- Women in Business

Wednesday's Woman: Incoming SBA Administrator Karen Mills

Posted by Gayle Kesten Wednesday, Jan 7, 2009, 12:15 PM ET

Amid the holiday shuffle, President-elect Barack Obama cast his vote for the Small Business Administration's next administrator: Karen Gordon Mills, a venture capitalist with a Harvard pedigree.

Mills, a Maine resident, is president of MMP Group, a private equity investment firm. Her bio also includes founding partner/managing director of Solera Capital, a New York-based venture capital firm; lead director of Scotts Miracle-Gro (maybe she can pour some of that stuff on the economy); and chair of the Governor's Council on Competitiveness and the Economy in Maine. She is also a member of the Board of the Maine Technology Institute and at Arrow Electronics.

"She has real-world experience, but she's also able to work with Republicans, Democrats and independents. She really has been a great asset to our council of economic advisers," said Maine Gov. John Baldacci.

In addition, Mills' parents run Chicago-based Tootsie Roll Industries, "which is a phenomenal small business success story in itself," says AllBusiness blogger Keith Girard.

Mills will take the reins from acting administrator Sandy Baruah, who took the reins from former administrator Steven Preston, who vacated the post last April to become Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

As an investor in small businesses, Mills understands their challenges, said Obama, in announcing his nomination. "With Karen Mills at the helm, America's small businesses will have a partner in Washington to create jobs and spur growth," he said.

Not everyone is convinced. Says U.S. News & World Report blogger Matthew Bandyk: "Obama's pick of Mills might be intended as a play to tie his economic stimulus plan to the entrepreneurial sector of the economy. Mills comes from the world of high-growth, cutting-edge companies that Obama wants to be seen as benefiting from the 'green economy' he wants to promote through infrastructure spending."

American Small Business League president Lloyd Chapman is also skeptical: "The appointment seems to confirm a prediction by the American Small Business League (ASBL) that Obama will support federal legislation and policy that will divert billions of dollars in federal small business contracts to America's wealthiest investors."

Choice aside, several see the early appointment of an SBA administrator as a sign that the incoming administration is serious about getting Main Street back on its feet. “This appointment shows that his economic team recognizes the key role that small firms play in job creation and the need to take quick steps to revitalize the agency’s role in spurring growth,” said Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y., who chairs the House Small Business Committee.

Now I'll pose the same question asked by MSNBC's Even Tahmincioglu, who presents a roundup of commentary from small-biz experts and advocates regarding Mills' appointment: Can a venture capitalist run the Small Business Administration?

In case you didn't catch it, here's the video of Mill's accepting Obama's nomination.

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