The administrator of the Small Business Administration is the head of the Small Business Administration of the United States. The administrator is responsible for managing and the day-to-day operations of the agency. The administrator is nominated by the president of the United States and must be confirmed by a vote of the Senate.
In January 2012, President Barack Obama announced that the SBA administrator would be elevated to Cabinet rank, a position it last held during the Clinton Administration.[1][2][3]
The most recent confirmed administrator was Kelly Loeffler, who was nominated by President Donald Trump and confirmed by the Senate on February 20, 2025.[4]
List of administrators
The following is a chronological list of those who have held the office:
No. | Image | Name | Start | End | President(s) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
William D. Mitchell | August 1, 1953 | October 30, 1953 | Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953–1961) | |
2 | ![]() |
Wendell B. Barnes | February 9, 1954 | November 21, 1959 | ||
3 | ![]() |
Philip McCallum | November 23, 1959 | January 20, 1961 | ||
4 | ![]() |
John E. Horne | February 2, 1961 | August 7, 1963 | John F. Kennedy (1961–1963) | |
5 | ![]() |
Eugene P. Foley | August 8, 1963 | September 10, 1965 | ||
Lyndon B. Johnson (1963–1969) | ||||||
6 | ![]() |
Bernard L. Boutin | May 19, 1966 | July 31, 1967 | ||
7 | ![]() |
Robert C. Moot | August 1, 1967 | July 31, 1968 | ||
8 | ![]() |
Howard J. Samuels | August 1, 1968 | February 22, 1969 | ||
9 | ![]() |
Hilary J. Sandoval Jr. | March 5, 1969 | January 1, 1971 | Richard Nixon (1969–1974) | |
10 | ![]() |
Thomas S. Kleppe | January 18, 1971 | October 12, 1975 | ||
Gerald Ford (1974–1977) | ||||||
11 | ![]() |
Mitchell P. Kobelinski | February 12, 1976 | March 4, 1977 | ||
12 | ![]() |
A. Vernon Weaver | April 1, 1977 | January 20, 1981 | Jimmy Carter (1977–1981) | |
13 | ![]() |
Michael Cardenas | March 30, 1981 | February 3, 1982 | Ronald Reagan (1981–1989) | |
14 | ![]() |
James C. Sanders | March 29, 1982 | March 31, 1986 | ||
– | ![]() |
Charles Heatherly Acting |
March 31, 1986 | March 23, 1987 | ||
15 | ![]() |
James Abdnor | March 23, 1987 | April 20, 1989 | ||
16 | ![]() |
Susan Engeleiter | April 20, 1989 | March 27, 1991 | George H. W. Bush (1989–1993) | |
17 | ![]() |
Pat Saiki | March 27, 1991 | January 20, 1993 | ||
– | ![]() |
Dayton J. Watkins Acting |
January 20, 1993 | May 12, 1993 | Bill Clinton (1993–2001) | |
18 | ![]() |
Erskine Bowles | May 12, 1993 | October 6, 1994 | ||
– | ![]() |
Cassandra M. Pulley Acting |
October 6, 1994 | October 8, 1994 | ||
19 | ![]() |
Philip Lader | October 8, 1994 | February 11, 1997 | ||
– | ![]() |
Ginger Lew Acting |
February 11, 1997 | March 7, 1997 | ||
20 | ![]() |
Aída Álvarez | March 7, 1997 | January 20, 2001 | ||
– | ![]() |
John D. Whitmore Acting |
January 20, 2001 | July 25, 2001 | George W. Bush (2001–2009) | |
21 | ![]() |
Hector Barreto | July 25, 2001 | July 2, 2006 | ||
22 | ![]() |
Steve Preston | July 10, 2006 | June 5, 2008 | ||
– | ![]() |
Sandy Baruah Acting |
June 5, 2008 | January 20, 2009 | ||
– | ![]() |
Darryl Hairston Acting |
January 20, 2009 | April 6, 2009 | Barack Obama (2009–2017) | |
23 | ![]() |
Karen Mills | April 6, 2009 | September 1, 2013 | ||
– | ![]() |
Jeanne Hulit Acting |
September 1, 2013 | February 7, 2014 | ||
– | ![]() |
Marianne Markowitz Acting |
February 7, 2014 | April 7, 2014 | ||
24 | ![]() |
Maria Contreras-Sweet | April 7, 2014 | January 20, 2017 | ||
– | ![]() |
Joseph Loddo Acting |
January 20, 2017 | February 14, 2017 | Donald Trump (2017–2021) | |
25 | ![]() |
Linda McMahon | February 14, 2017 | April 12, 2019 | ||
– | ![]() |
Chris Pilkerton Acting |
April 13, 2019 | January 14, 2020 | ||
26 | ![]() |
Jovita Carranza | January 14, 2020 | January 20, 2021 | ||
– | ![]() |
Tami Perriello Acting[5][6] |
January 20, 2021 | March 17, 2021 | Joe Biden (2021–2025) | |
27 | ![]() |
Isabel Guzman | March 17, 2021 | January 20, 2025 | ||
– | ![]() |
Everett Woodel Acting |
January 20, 2025 | February 20, 2025 | Donald Trump (2025–present) | |
28 | ![]() |
Kelly Loeffler | February 20, 2025 | Present |
Line of succession
The line of succession for the administrator of the Small Business Administration is as follows:[7]
- Chief of Staff
- General Counsel
- Associate Administrator; Office of Capital Access
- Associate Administrator, Office of Disaster Assistance
- Regional Administrator for Region IX (Phoenix, Arizona)
- Regional Administrator for Region VIII (Denver, Colorado)
References
- ^ Maltby, Emily (January 13, 2012). "Obama to Elevate SBA Chief". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on May 30, 2023.
- ^ SBA head, Maine native Mills to be elevated to cabinet-level position Archived May 9, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Administrators of the SBA sba.gov Archived October 19, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Senate confirms Kelly Loeffler to lead Small Business Administration". Fox News. February 19, 2025. Retrieved February 20, 2025.
- ^ "SBA Leadership". Archived from the original on January 19, 2021.
- ^ "Tami Perriello". Archived from the original on January 23, 2021.
- ^ "Administrator's Line of Succession Designation, No. 1-A, Revision 37". Federal Register. May 13, 2019. Retrieved September 3, 2023.