Nancy Killefer has been chosen by president-elect Barack Obama to serve in a new position as "chief performance officer," charged with reforming government and keeping its fiscal house in order. Obama announced the selection of Killefer in a Wednesday morning news conference.

Nancy Killefer has had a long career that includes both government and business experience. She is currently a senior director in the Washington, D.C. office of the management consulting firm McKinsey & Company. In her position she specializes in improving the performance of government clients.

From 1997 to 2000, Killefer was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Management and Chief Financial Officer. She is said to have led a major effort to modernize the Internal Revenue Service, among other projects.

Nancy Killefer is on the advisory board of the Retirement Security Project, an organization "dedicated to promoting common sense solutions to improve the retirement income prospects of millions of American workers," according to its Web site.

Killefer holds an MS degree in Management and Finance from the Sloan School of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and earned her BA in economics from Vassar College.