People to Watch in 2000

Who will make big news in the business world this year? Who will emerge from relative obscurity to become a major player? To start the new year, Times business reporters selected people from their beats who they believe will be among those to watch in 2000--in Southern California, across the country and around the world. Some are well known, having made big news in previous years. Others are not exactly household names but nevertheless are likely to make a major impact in their fields.

Of course, there’s no way to predict just what’s going to happen in the next 12 months. Nor can any such list be complete--there’s always the come-from-nowhere phenom who’ll surprise everyone. But it’s a good bet that if you follow the fortunes of these 22, you’ll see the top business stories of 2000 unfold.

Charlene Barshefsky, U.S. Trade Envoy

The new year could be a landmark in economic globalization, with the United States reestablishing itself as the world’s beacon of free trade. Or it could be a year of setbacks, as critics of open markets solidify their increasing influence over economic policy.

No individual will have a greater imprint on how these forces play out than Charlene Barshefsky, 49, the tenacious U.S. trade representative who is America’s key envoy for the global economy.

“The issues before us are diverse, complex and often novel,” Barshefsky cautioned before the world trade summit collapsed in Seattle in early December. The world’s nations, she added, needed a “time out” to set the battered movement toward open markets back on course.

Whether that can be achieved this year will be determined by an extraordinary set of challenges, all of which will preoccupy her and her staff. Congress may consider China’s application to the World Trade Organization, indeed whether the United States even should remain a member of the beleaguered Geneva-based body.

Squabbling members of the WTO are trying to decide whether they dare hold another summit aimed at trade in food, services and other products. On top of all that, critics of globalization are demanding a greater White House commitment to the environment and workplace standards overseas as part of future trade accords.

Barshefsky, a Chicago native, is highly regarded for her intellect and perseverance against a daunting array of political pressures at home and abroad. But in more than three years at the top of trade policy, she has won fewer admirers for her tact and diplomacy. She will need such skills more than ever in the coming year.