American Red Cross Appoints IRS Chief as Its New CEO

By Elizabeth Schwinn

The American Red Cross has chosen Mark Everson, the commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, as its new chief executive, the organization announced today.

The appointment ends a search that lasted more than a year, as the Red Cross sought to improve its management in the wake of criticism of its performance after Hurricane Katrina.

Observers said the search was made more difficult by the fact that three chief executives have left the organization since 1999.

After the organization's response to Hurricane Katrina, Congress insisted that the organization needed to revamp its board structure and governance policies. Legislation directing the charity to reduce size of its board and clarifying the authority of its chief executive within the organization was approved by the House on Tuesday. The Senate is expected to act this week on the legislation.

The choice of Mr. Everson as president has been a closely guarded secret. The board gave a final vote approving his selection this morning.

Leslie Schaffer, executive director of the Central Iowa chapter of the Red Cross, said she was surprised but pleased by Mr. Everson's appointment.

"For those of us in the field, we want to know we've got a president," she says. "We've just been in this holding pattern."

Mr. Everson's choice sends a signal that the Red Cross intends to deal aggressively with issues surrounding its efficiency and effectiveness, observers say.

During his time as commissioner, Mr. Everson has taken steps to strengthen the federal government's oversight of nonprofit organizations, and increased the amount of money going to the IRS unit that oversees charities (The Chronicle, October 12.) Under his leadership, the IRS has cracked down on abuses by nonprofit credit-counseling organizations and tax scams that involve nonprofit organizations.

Mr. Everson has served as IRS Commissioner since 2003. He has held a number of high-level positions in government and business. During the Reagan Administration, he worked at the U.S. Information Agency and as deputy commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

He earned a bachelor's degree in history from Yale and holds a master's degree in accounting from New York University's business school.