The Obama administration has added Wall Street expertise to its team overseeing the restructuring of General Motors and Chrysler, naming Steven Rattner as adviser to treasury secretary Timothy Geithner.
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The news came as a cheeky Detroit News scrutiny of public records showed that few new American cars were owned by the president’s panel and its various aides.
Rattner, co-founder of private equity firm Quadrangle Group, would advise Geithner on a variety of economic and financial matters and would lead the treasury’s efforts on the automobile sector, the White House told Reuters.
The report said Rattner had been a leading contender to become ‘car czar’ but president Barack Obama surprised industry analysts and executives by opting against a single-appointee to handle the politically tricky task of overhauling Detroit.
Instead, he has settled on a panel led by Geithner and White House economic adviser Larry Summers that also includes representatives from the labour, transportation, energy and commerce departments and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Ron Bloom, a restructuring expert with investment banking experience, has also joined the treasury to work on the auto issue. But Bloom’s chief expertise is advising labor unions on restructuring, especially in the steel industry, Reuters noted.
Rattner has stepped down from Quadrangle, which he co-founded in 2000.
