Kellogg CEO tapped as new U.S. commerce secretary

U.S. President George W. Bush on Monday nominated Kellogg Co. chairman and chief executive officer Carlos Gutierrez as his new secretary of commerce.

Bush called Gutierrez "one of America's most respected business leaders" and "a great American success story."

Gutierrez has been chairman of the board of Kellogg since April 2000 and chief executive officer since April 1999. He has been with Kellogg since 1975, when he joined the company's Mexican operations.

Born on Nov. 4, 1953, in Havana, Cuba, Gutierrez's family fled the island in 1960.

If Gutierrez is confirmed by the U.S. Senate, he would succeed current Commerce Secretary Donald Evans, who announced his resignation shortly after Bush won a second term in office on Nov. 2.