U.S. President Barack Obama named a group of top corporate executives Wednesday to join a new economic advisory panel, the latest move to boost the economy and reach out to the business community.

The Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, which will be chaired by General Electric Co Chief Executive Jeffrey Immelt, has its first meeting Thursday at the White House at 1:45 p.m. EST. Obama will address the group.

The White House published a list of high-profile names that will make up the panel and said more members would be announced in the future.

The list included Citigroup Chairman Richard Parsons, American Express Co Chief Executive Kenneth Chenault, AOL co-founder Steve Case, Southwest Airlines Chief Executive Gary Kelly, DuPont Chief Executive Ellen Kullman, and Intel Corp Chief Executive Paul Otellini.

“I am proud that such experienced and committed individuals have agreed to serve the American people in these important roles,” Obama said in a statement about the panel.

“I look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead.”

Rounding out his economic team, the president also announced he would nominate Carl Shapiro, an economist in the antitrust division at the Department of Justice, to join his Council of Economic Advisers — a White House panel led by Austan Goolsbee.

Shapiro is a professor at the University of California at Berkeley, a job from which he is currently on leave.

At the Justice Department, he serves as the deputy assistant attorney general for economics in the antitrust division, supervising 50 economists, the official said.