2. Austan Goolsbee
Job title: Member of Council of Economic Advisers, White House
The young University of Chicago professor was President Obama's lead economic adviser during the campaign.
Now the free-trade centrist is chief economist on Obama's Economic Recovery Advisory Board, which is shaping policies amid the economic crises.
Most recently Goolsbee has been a part of the White House Auto Task Force. He opposed the Chrysler bailout, but helped get Chrysler and General Motors through bankruptcy in a matter of weeks.
NEXT: Julie Greenwald
