The Victory Fund has learned President-elect Barack Obama will tap Fred Hochberg to chair the Export-Import Bank of the United States, which serves as the country’s official export credit agency, helping to finance the export of U.S. goods and services to international markets.  Hochberg will be the bank’s first-ever openly gay chair.

The LGBT community’s Presidential Appointments Project has been working with the Obama-Biden Transition Team to identify qualified openly LGBT Americans who are willing to serve their country as presidential appointees.  Hochberg, who was appointed to head the Small Business Administration by President Bill Clinton, has been mentioned for several high-level positions in the Obama administration.

“This is very good news.  Fred Hochberg’s talent and business acumen will serve U.S. companies well.  But he will also set an important example as an openly gay person in a top leadership position in the business community,” said Chuck Wolfe, president and CEO of the Victory Fund.

Barack Obama will appoint thousands of executive branch employees throughout his term.  To date, nearly 1,500 individuals have applied through the community’s Presidential Appointments Project.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson’s withdrawal of his nomination as President-elect Barack Obama’s Commerce Secretary has tongues wagging that Fred Hochberg could emerge as a contender for the position. If selected and confirmed, Hochberg would become the first openly gay cabinet secretary in history.

“Fred Hochberg is an extremely smart and talented public servant, which is why his name repeatedly surfaces in connection with senior posts in the Obama administration,” said Denis Dison, vice president at the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund. “It’s incredibly important that openly LGBT professionals have a voice at all levels of their government, which is why we’re backing Fred and others like him who want to serve the president and their country.”

Hochberg has more than 25 years of experience in business, government, civil rights and philanthropy. From 1998 through 2000, he served as deputy and then acting administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA), an agency elevated to cabinet rank by President Bill Clinton. At the SBA, he directed the delivery of a comprehensive set of financial and business development programs for entrepreneurs, with particular outreach to women and minorities.

He served as dean of Milano The New School for Management and Urban Policy from 2003 to 2008 and is currently a member of the Board of Commissioners of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.