April 2000

Alcoa Chair Joins Public Oversight Board

The Public Oversight Board recently announced it has elected Alcoa Chair Paul H. O'Neill to the board, replacing the vacancy created when A.A. Sommer Jr. retired in February.

O'Neill, who also is an Alcoa director, served as the company's chair and CEO for 12 years. Prior to joining Alcoa in 1987, O'Neill was president of International Paper Company in New York. Earlier in his career, he was an engineer for Morrison-Knudsen and a computer systems analyst with the U.S. Veterans Administration. He also served on the staff of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget from 1967 to 1977, including four years as the agency's deputy director.

"In his business and public policy career, O'Neill has developed an insightful knowledge of the accounting profession and the significant contributions it makes to corporate governance and our capital markets," POB Chair Charles A. Bowsher said. "He is particularly well versed in the current challenges the profession faces. His knowledge will serve the board well as it embarks on the special reviews of large accounting firms' compliance with the profession's and the SEC's independence rules."

O'Neill received a bachelor's in economics from Fresno State College and a master's of public administration from Indiana University. He has participated in economics graduate programs at Claremont Graduate University and George Washington University.

The POB is an autonomous body of five members that oversees the self-regulatory programs of the AICPA's SEC Practice Section. *