Transition Team Profiles

Other: Podesta may be from Chicago, but his first choice for president was Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.). He worked closely with Obama's new chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, and remains close to Daschle, who has become a trusted Obama adviser.

PETE ROUSE

Position: Transition co-chair

Experience: Rouse, 62, had hoped to guide a U.S. senator to the White House one day, but he thought it would be his longtime boss, former Senate majority leader Thomas A. Daschle. When Daschle lost his seat in 2004, Rouse agreed to become Obama's chief of staff and principal guide to the ways of Capitol Hill.

A publicity-avoiding workaholic who arrived in Washington more than three decades ago, Rouse was widely considered the Senate's most influential aide -- sometimes called the 101st senator -- when he was Daschle's chief of staff. He later drew on his extensive network of contacts as Obama built his campaign team.

Other: To win him over in 2005, when Rouse was considering leaving government, Obama told the Hill veteran that he wanted to "form a partnership" with Rouse. Obama said last year: "Pete's very good at looking around the corners of decisions and playing out the implications of them. He's been around long enough that he can recognize problems and pitfalls a lot quicker than others can."

DAVID AXELROD

Position: Chief strategist

Experience: Axelrod, 53, is a University of Chicago political science graduate who spent his early career covering politics for the Chicago Tribune. He wrote about a world that he would later try to shape as a consultant.

Respected for his ability to shape a concise message and draw a vivid image through political advertising, Axelrod is a longtime consultant to Mayor Richard M. Daley, now in his sixth term. He works with Chicago-based Rahm Emanuel, Obama's chief of staff.

Axelrod, raised in a middle-class Jewish household in New York, has a record of success with candidates including Massachusetts Gov. Deval L. Patrick and former D.C. mayor Anthony Williams.

Other: Axelrod joined Obama's political team during his 2004 U.S. Senate campaign, later becoming the central architect and one of the most public faces of the race for the White House. In his victory speech, Obama said the men worked together "every step of the way."