Let's see, Brown was head of FEMA last year when Florida was bashed by multiple hurricanes. Brown was head of FEMA when NO and MS get bashed by a hurricane. What's changed? Only the location. So maybe, just maybe, the folks in Florida were better prepared by their state and local governments, the state/locals had plans and they executed their plans -- and the quality of FEMA leadership (top, middle or bottom) had little to do with it.
According to his bio, he has covered 164 prior disasters without incident. What bugs me is they keep citing the "private sector job", all the while failing to note that, perhaps with the exception of a policeman or fireman, there are very few private sector jobs dealing with the issues that FEMA has to deal with. If you will check his bio at the link below, it states that he also served as FEMA's Deputy Director and the agency's General Counsel prior to this position. He also served as an assistant city manager with emergency services oversight while attending law school.
Assistant city manager is not a private sector job, but did involve dealing with emergency services oversight, so to say that he had no experience at all seems a little disingenuous.