Who Is In This Auto Task Force?

The White House Auto Task Force (formally "The Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry") has already guided Chrysler into bankruptcy, and is about to do the same to General Motors. Who is in this Task Force? Curious minds want to know.

Most of the names below came from Wikipedia page (which in turn must have come from the White House announcement), though that page doesn't list Mr. Steven Rattner. Names of people who are not members but work closely (i.e. staff) were gleaned from various news sources available on the net.

Members:

• Tim Geithner
• Lawrence Summers
• (and 8 other cabinet members and official title holders)

Senior Advisor:

• Ron Bloom: 53-year-old working for United Steelworkers Union. Before that, he worked in Wall Street as an investment banker.

Official Designees (I take it to mean these are the people who do the work for the Members):

• Diana Farrell: Deputy Director of National Economic Council. She came from McKinsey (consulting firm), and before that, she worked for Goldman Sachs.
• Gene Sperling: economist. Currently a Counselor to Treasury Secretary.
• Jared Bernstein: economist, advising Vice President Joe Biden
• Edward Montgomery: economist. Currently Director of Recovery for Auto Communities and Workers
• Austan Dean Goolsbee: University of Chicago economist
• (and 5 other aides, advisors to various department)

Not a member but said to be working closely (I take it to mean "staff", who do the "real" work):

• Brian Deese: 31-year-old former Obama campaign aide
• Alan Krueger: economist at Princeton
• Matthew Feldman: partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP (bankruptcy and restructuring)
• Harry J. Wilson: 37-year old former hedge fund star. Before that, he worked for Blackstone and Goldman Sachs.
• Clay Calhoon: recently completed a two-year internship as a Walt Disney Co. analyst

Where does Mr. Rattner fit? He is the so-called "car czar", isn't he?

• Steven Rattner: investment banker, reports to Geithner and Summers (more of his colorful background, see my post here)

Economists and bankers, mostly, and activists. Oh sorry these days it's "social entrepreneurs", according to my old b-school.

Speaking of b-school, reading this article published in March on Wall Street Journal, the whole thing looks just like a business school case study write-up exercise to me, albeit writ large, very large and real-time, affecting real people and real money.

Chrysler and GM should have decided on their own fate long, long time ago, rather than suffer this ignominy.

Tweet