Fleischer was in the Foreign Service for four years after college in the 1970s, serving in Washington and Africa. He also worked briefly on Capitol Hill and received a Harvard MBA.

Fleischer describes himself as a turnaround specialist, but his recent business track record is modest.

He is on leave from the presidency of Bogen Communications International, a New Jersey-based maker and distributor of electronics equipment that has about $60 million in annual sales and has had an up-and-down financial performance in recent years.

Earlier this year, Bogen delisted itself from the Nasdaq stock market and now trades only on the Pink Sheets, an electronic exchange with fewer public reporting requirements.

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Fleischer said he wanted to serve in Iraq because he believes Bush had embarked on "a noble path" in freeing and democratizing the country and he believed he had skills that would be helpful.

He said that from his Foreign Service stint, he was already acquainted with Paul Bremer, the presidential envoy who heads the CPA.

With an assist from his brother, Ari, who "got my resume to Bremer," Fleischer landed interviews that led to his appointment.

Among Fleischer's key tasks was training more Iraqi businessmen in the ways of U.S.-style procurement so they can land part of the $18.4 billion in reconstruction aid the U.S. has earmarked for Iraq.

Competitive bidding "is a new world for the Iraqis," Fleischer said. Under Saddam Hussein, "it was all done by cronies. The only paradigm they know is cronyism. We are teaching them that there is an alternative system with built-in checks and built-in review."