Geithner Headed to Wall Street

Former Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who played a central role in the government's response to the financial crisis of 2008-2009, is joining private equity firm Warburg Pincus LLC. The New York-based firm announced today that Geithner will serve as its president and managing director starting March 1. The company has been involved in buyouts of such well-known firms as Neiman Marcus and contact lens maker Bausch + Lomb. Warburg Pincus didn't comment on Geithner's pay.

Geithner has spent most of his career in government, although he had an early stint at Kissinger Associates, the consulting firm formed by former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. Geithner led the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for more than five years before being becoming Treasury secretary in 2009. Supporters credited him with helping prevent the recession from spiraling into a second Great Depression, but critics said he was too cozy with Wall Street. (More Timothy Geithner stories.)