Steven Rattner to oversee US auto industry restructuring

25 February 2009

The US government is tapping the private sector for advice on the auto imbroglio. The US Treasury Department has chosen Steven Rattner, the cofounder of a private equity group, to act as a special advisor on the restructuring of the US auto industry, officials said Monday.

Rattner, who was rumoured to be the administration's top pick for a 'car czar,' will join a cabinet-level task force which includes Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner and Lawrence Summers, economic advisor to President Barack Obama. His official title will be Counselor to the Secretary of the Treasury.

''We are obviously at a critical moment in our nation's history, particularly with regard to our economy, and I am honoured to have this opportunity to serve my country in a meaningful way,'' Rattner wrote in an e-mail message to friends on Monday.

A graduate of Brown University, Rattner started his career as a reporter with The New York Times, first at the Washington bureau, where he became close friends with Times' owner-family member Arthur Sulzberger, who also was at the time working as a reporter; and then at the London bureau.

Subsequently, Rattner quit journalism and joined Morgan Stanley, where he founded its Communications Group. In 1989 he joined Lazard as a General Partner; he founded their Media and Communications Group and became deputy chairman and deputy CEO before leaving to found Quadrangle in 2000.

Quadrangle's investments include Metro Goldwyn Mayer, the movie studio, and Maxim magazine. From Quadrangle's offices in the Seagram Building in Midtown Manhattan, Rattner has courted the city's power players, often over lunch at the Four Seasons restaurant downstairs.