The federal government has a new manufacturing leader. Retired Rear Admiral William Sutton has left his post as head of the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute to become the Commerce Department’s Assistant Secretary for Manufacturing and Services, the government’s lead advocate for U.S. industry. Sutton’s task, says the Commerce Department, is to ensure that “laws, policies and regulations are passed with an eye towards competitiveness.” Sutton has served on the Boards of the American National Standards Institute and the National Association of Manufacturers’ Council of Manufacturing Associations. He holds an MS degree in naval architecture and marine engineering from MIT and a BS in naval engineering from the Naval Academy.