Former Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who was a leading player in the government’s rescue of the financial system, is joining private equity firm Warburg Pincus. The firm issued a statement Saturday announcing that Geithner will be joining the firm with the title of president and managing director on March 1, 2014. Geithner’s new job is “not the kind of figurehead or advisory positions that public-sector figures often land after government stints,” points out the Wall Street Journal. The paper talked to Geithner who insists the job appealed to him because executives wanted him “to play a substantive role in helping them manage the firm.”
Geithner now becomes the latest in “a long line of public servants going into private equity after government service,” notes the Journal. Yet Geithner’s step into the private equity world can be seen as more controversial not just because of the key role he played in the government’s response to the financial crisis but also because of the way in which private equity firms took center stage during the 2012 campaign. Democrats repeatedly criticized Republican contender Mitt Romney over his role at Bain Capital, claiming that deals his firm pursued often led to layoffs, points out Politico.
Since leaving public office in January, Geithner has been giving paid speeches while working on a book.
