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.

Assemblywoman Sheila Kuehl

Any California bankers who don’t know the name Sheila Kuehl will soon know it very well.

Assemblywoman Kuehl, a Democrat from Santa Monica, has embraced what is likely to be the most controversial issue affecting the state’s financial services industry this year: privacy.

Kuehl, 58, has agreed to carry legislation, expected to be formally introduced this month, that would require banks to get their customers’ explicit permission before selling or disclosing private information about them to third parties or to any of the bank’s affiliates.

Industry and consumer groups already are mobilizing for a battle over the bill, which would make California’s privacy protections substantially stronger than current federal rules.

“We expect this to be hard-fought,” said Kuehl, who last year successfully took on the hospital industry to improve patient-nurse ratios and also won new discrimination protections for gay students.

Bankers say efforts such as Kuehl’s could backfire on consumers by limiting choice and convenience.

Kuehl, who heads the Assembly Judiciary Committee, says she already has lined up support from colleagues and from California Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer.