George Clooney - actor, spokesman, energy company executive

Just because I think that George Clooney was great on ER, it doesn't mean that I want him operating on me.

But according to FoxNews.com Mr. Clooney has been named to the board of directors of a Swiss clean energy company. The new company, created by Swatch watch billionaire Nicolas Hayek, does not have a name - but it does have its celebrity on board.

Hayek said that he was split between choosing Al Gore or Clooney. I can see why Gore was a candidate: global warming mascot, some leadership experience, well connected. Why was Clooney in the running? I mean I know he is the eminent spokesman for all things vogue, but what does he really know about clean energy, or running an energy corporation? He played a CIA agent in Syriana but I don't think that counts. He has directed films but is that the same as being on the board?

No, but that's not his role. Oh the Swiss are so efficient. They got a board member and an A-List Hollywood celebrity for the price of one. And while the company does not have any factories, the publicity machine is already going full steam ahead. A quick Google search grabbed over 30 news releases and blogs about this one topic alone. Think Fox News would be covering the story without Danny Ocean on the board?

Corporate America must learn from this. Imagine the hundreds of millions of dollars that Nike could have saved if they simply put Tiger Woods on the board? And it's not too late for Purina to name Michael Vick as their new chief executive - but I haven't seen him play a game in a while, maybe he's having an off year?