photo coutesy of Bloomberg.com
Around the time I was leaving work today I heard that Tim Geithner was going to be the new Treasury Secretary on the news. The name sounded familiar to me but I really had no idea who the guy was. At the time I thought nothing of it but once I saw how high the market jumped when the news broke, I had to find out.
From Wikipedia:
Tim Geithner was born in Brooklyn, New York City, to Mr. and Mrs. Peter F. Geithner of Larchmont, New York. He completed high school at International School Bangkok, Thailand, and then attended Dartmouth College, graduating with a B.A. in government and Asian studies in 1983. After, he obtained an M.A. in International Economics and East Asian Studies from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies in 1985. He has studied Japanese and Chinese and has lived in East Africa, India, Thailand, China, and Japan.
He is married to Carole M. Sonnenfeld, a Dartmouth classmate, and with her has two children, Elise and Benjamin. In spare time he fly-fishes, plays tennis and surfs. Geithner is Jewish.
After completing his studies, Geithner worked for Kissinger and Associates in Washington, D.C., for three years and then joined the International Affairs division of the U.S. Treasury Department in 1988.
In 1999 he was promoted to Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs and served under Treasury Secretaries Robert Rubin and Lawrence Summers.
In 2002 he left the Treasury to join the Council on Foreign Relations as a Senior Fellow in the International Economics department. He then worked for the International Monetary Fund as the director of the Policy Development and Review Department until moving to the Federal Reserve in October 2003. In 2006 he became a member of the influential Washington-based financial advisory body, the Group of Thirty.
On November 21, 2008, it was reported that President-elect Barack Obama had decided to nominate Geithner for the position of Treasury Secretary.
More Importantly:
- Geithner has had a seat at the table ever since this recession began. As the President of Federal Reserve Bank of New York over the last 5 years, he oversaw the bailout of Bear Sterns and has been instrumental in the “lifelines” that Fannie & Freddy Mac have been receiving.
- Basically, he knows all the players and should be very much in the “know” for a seamless transition to the Obama administration.
Wall Street seems to pass a vote of confidence with this guy but he is going to face a considerable challenge in the not too distant future. Being the over-sear of $700 billion dollars is going to be a daunting task. Let’s hope his strong credentials and youth bring a spark back to this economy. How much influence do you think a Treasury Secretary has? Do you think Paul Volcker was the better choice?
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1 Comments until now.
Geithner was an excellent choice, providing immediate credibility and stability to a fragile situation.
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