No conflict of interest, says McDonnell’s cabinet pick

Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell’s designee for secretary of commerce and trade says he doesn’t see why serving on several corporate boards while working to attract business to the state would be a problem.

Richmond native Robert C. Sledd, who has offered to forgo state pay, wants to remain on three boards, including those of Universal Corp., a Richmond-based tobacco company, and Owens & Minor Co., a Hanover County-based medical-supplies distributor.

Sledd, a former chairman and CEO of Performance Food Group Co., who described himself as “independently wealthy,“ said yesterday that he’s surprised that his service on the boards has spurred concerns about potential conflicts of interest.

“The last thing I want to do is create problems for the administration,“ Sledd said in a telephone interview.

“I’m here to try to help, not to hurt anybody. If I had any question in my mind, I would contact the chief of staff and make him aware of those and take whatever steps are necessary to make sure there were not any conflicts.“

He echoed McDonnell’s vigorous defense of the arrangement, saying that staying on the boards will keep him close to boardroom issues while allowing him to continue to donate to charity some of the money he makes.

As secretary of commerce and trade, Sledd would oversee 13 state agencies, including the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, which tries to attract industry — potentially including competitors of companies on whose boards Sledd sits.

He said he spoke with the attorney general’s office about his holdings and said he would recuse himself from any decision that could pose a conflict.

“I’m surprised it came up,“ Sledd said. “Based on the boards that I’m on, I just don’t think that’s going to be an issue.“

McDonnell repeatedly has defended Sledd’s board positions, in what is becoming an early distraction in an otherwise quiet transition.

Separate from the discussion about his board work, Sledd said he proposed not to take a salary to free up money within his secretariat to hire staff.

“It does obviously bother me that I’m coming under fire like I’m doing this for all the wrong reasons,“ he said. “I can’t imagine why it would be an issue. If I thought it was hurting anybody . . . but I just don’t think it’s an issue at all.“

State Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple, D-Arlington, a member of the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee, which will have to confirm Sledd’s nomination, said: “It certainly has the appearance of impropriety.“

But she said it is too early to say whether the Sledd appointment is in trouble.

Four years ago, Republicans in the House of Delegates rejected Democrat Gov. Timothy M. Kaine’s proposed appointment of Daniel G. LeBlanc, a former president of the Virginia AFL-CIO, as secretary of the commonwealth.

Kaine subsequently appointed LeBlanc to a Cabinet-level position in work-force training.

House Majority Leader H. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, said: “We need somebody who has ties to the business community. His job will be to bring jobs to Virginia, and he can do that.“

But Griffith said Sledd has “got to realize that he will be subject to greater scrutiny” because of his service on corporate boards.

House Minority Leader Ward L. Armstrong, D-Henry, said most legislators have to sacrifice financially to go into public service.

“You can’t be setting economic policy for the commonwealth and sit on a corporate board,“ he said.

Sledd helped start Performance Food Group Co., which grew to be a Fortune 500 company. He served as its chairman when it was sold in May 2008 for $1.3 billion to two private-equity firms.

Sledd, a managing partner of Pinnacle Ventures LLC, a family company that has invested in some startups, said he’s confident his arrangement “will not scare any businesses.“

“In fact, I think it may help businesses realize that I do understand their problems, because I’m still engaged in the things they’re engaged in.“

Olympia Meola is a staff writer at the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Staff writer Tyler Whitley contributed to this report.