Obama to Name Former Colleague, Supporter to Head FTC

Edith Ramirez worked for president's campaign in 2008 and has been on commission since 2010

President Barack Obama intends to name Edith Ramirez, once a colleague of his at the Harvard Law Review, as chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission, a White House official said on Thursday.

Ramirez, a Democrat who worked for Obama during the 2008 presidential race, was a Los Angeles lawyer specializing in business litigation and intellectual property before joining the commission. She has been a commissioner since 2010.

She will lead the commission as the FTC is considering several high-profile mergers, including the proposed Office Depot Inc deal to buy rival superstore OfficeMax, Tesoro Corp's purchase of a BP refinery in gas-price sensitive California, and Tempur-Pedic's proposed purchase of mattress rival Sealy Corp.