 On December 21, 2012, President Obama announced the appointment of El-Erian as the chair of the president's Global Development Council, leading the Council in its role of informing and providing advice to the President and other senior U.S. officials on global development policies and practices.On January 21, 2014, El-Erian resigned from PIMCO as of mid-March 2014, stating he decided to leave after receiving a letter from his daughter outlining important events in her life that he missed.However, it was widely reported that his resignation was triggered by conflicts with Gross, raising questions about the company's succession plan as El-Erian was widely perceived as heir apparent to the 69 year old Gross.