Revolving Door November 18, 2013, 3:12 pm Comment

Obama’s First-Term Finance Team: Where Are They Now?

Jonathan Ernst/Reuters From left, Neal Wolin, Ben Bernanke, Sheila Bair, Mary Schapiro and Gary Gensler.

Timothy F. Geithner’s move to the private equity firm Warburg Pincus is a big shift by a finance official from the Obama administration’s first term to the private sector.
But it’s an ever-lengthening list, as several appointed officials had already made the jump to private life well before Mr. Geithner, the 75th Treasury secretary, announced his new job.

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Here’s a sampling of who has made a move so far — some to the financial sector, some to other government positions, and others to nothing yet:

Mary Schapiro: The head of the Securities and Exchange Commission for the administration’s first term, tasked with rebuilding the agency after it was criticized for missing warning signs of the financial crisis and Bernard L. Madoff. She is now a top executive at the Promontory Financial Group, the powerful bank consultancy.
Peter R. Orszag: The former head of the White House’s Office of Management and Budget and one of the Obama administration’s top “propeller heads.” He left government office three years ago, eventually joining Citigroup as a vice chairman of corporate and investment banking.
Gary Gensler: The head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and an unexpectedly strong proponent for tougher bank regulations. He remains in the role, but is expected to leave around the end of the year.
Timothy Massad: A former corporate lawyer who became the assistant Treasury secretary overseeing the unwinding of the Troubled Asset Relief Program. He has been nominated to succeed Mr. Gensler, though it’s unclear whether he will pass muster in a deeply divided Senate.
Robert Khuzami: The S.E.C.’s enforcement chief during President Obama’s first term, who brought big lawsuits against the likes of Goldman Sachs, which yielded an enormous $550 million settlement. He left the agency in January, and this summer announced plans to join the big law firm Kirkland & Ellis.
Neal Wolin: Until this August, the deputy Treasury secretary and a top adviser to Mr. Geithner and then Jacob J. Lew. He was a veteran government official who served during the Clinton administration, with stints in private practice before and afterward. Mr. Wolin hasn’t announced a new post yet.
Lael Brainard: The Treasury’s under secretary for international affairs and the Obama administration’s top financial diplomat. She left the department this month amid speculation that she may be nominated to serve on the Federal Reserve’s board of governors.
Jeffrey Goldstein: A former Treasury undersecretary for domestic finance, responsible for matters like implementing the Dodd-Frank Act’s overhaul of Wall Street regulation. He left the department in 2011 to return to his employer, the private equity firm Hellman & Friedman.
Steven Rattner: The former media banker and private equity executive served as the point person for the Obama administration’s automotive task force, overseeing the 2009 bailouts of General Motors and Chrysler. He left after serving five months in the position, covering the bulk of the restructuring work, and now manages the fortune of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.
Ron Bloom: A former restructuring banker who served as Mr. Rattner’s deputy on the auto task force. He left the Treasury department in August 2011 and became a senior fellow for the Center for American Progress. The next year, he rejoined a former employer, the investment bank Lazard.
Harry J. Wilson: A onetime hedge fund executive who joined the auto task force and aided in the planning for G.M., Chrysler and Delphi, the car parts maker. He left government service after the auto turnarounds and unsuccessfully ran for New York State comptroller. He subsequently founded the Maeva Group, which specializes in restructuring advice, and served as a director of Yahoo.
James Millstein: A former corporate lawyer and then Lazard banker who became the Treasury’s restructuring chief, overseeing the reorganization of the American International Group and its effective return to the private markets through a stock offering. He left government service in February 2011 and now heads Millstein & Company, a financial adviser specializing in restructuring whose clients include US Airways and a group of bondholders of Energy Future Holdings.
David N. Miller: Treasury’s chief investment officer for TARP and the department’s top negotiator on bank bailout programs. He stepped down in March 2011 and subsequently joined Silver Bay Realty Trust, an investment firm that acquires, renovates and leases out houses.
Thomas Casarella: Mr. Millstein’s protégé, who replaced his onetime boss as acting Treasury restructuring chief and an overseer of the A.I.G. and Ally Financial turnarounds. He departed Washington in July 2011 and now works at Oaktree Capital, the big investment firm.