Washington, DC - The U.S. Postal Service Governors today announced that John E. "Jack" Potter will be the 72nd Postmaster General of the United States, effective June 1, 2001. Potter becomes only the sixth postal employee to serve as Postmaster General and replaces William J. Henderson, who has served in that position for three years and leaves May 31. Potter, a 23-year postal employee, now serves as Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President with responsibility for nationwide operations planning and processing, engineering, quality, delivery, facilities, labor relations, and network operations management. He also oversees operations of the 10 Postal Service area offices. In that role, Potter manages a national operations budget of $54.3 billion. In making the announcement, Chairman of the Postal Service Board of Governors Robert F. Rider said, "Jack's talent and commitment have delivered success in providing affordable, universal mail service for the nation. He has the experience, leadership, and vision that will position the organization for long-term success and necessary regulatory reform through dramatically changing competitive and technological environments." Commenting on his appointment as Postmaster General, Potter said, "I am humbled by this honor. I am looking forward to the challenge of making the Postal Service an even better place tomorrow than it is today." Prior to his appointment as Chief Operating Officer in October 2000, Potter had also served as Senior Vice President of Operations, Senior Vice President of Labor Relations, and Manager of Capitol Metro Operations. In the latter position, he was responsible for all retail, delivery, and processing operations in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area. Potter began his postal career in 1978 as a part-time clerk in Westchester, NY, and moved on to hold several staff positions in the Northeast Area Office where, in 1986, he was promoted as Regional Manager of Operations Planning. In 1989, Potter moved to national headquarters in Washington, DC, as Director of the Office of Distribution Operations and Networks and later was named Manager, Processing Policies and Programs. Potter holds a bachelor's degree in economics from Fordham University, Bronx, NY, and earned a master's degree in management in the Sloan Fellows Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He lives in Potomac, MD, with his wife Maureen and their two children.