Ex-Goldman, Sachs exec to oversee bailout

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Jr. Monday put a 35-year-old ex-Goldman, Sachs & Co. executive in charge of ramrodding the $700 billion bailout program.

The former executive, Neel Kashkari, joined the Treasury Department in July 2006 as a senior adviser to Paulson and most recently has been assistant secretary for international economics and development.

In his new role as interim assistant secretary for financial stability, Kashkari will oversee the Office of Financial Stability, including the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the department said in announcing his appointment.

Kashkari was involved in developing and executing the department's response to the housing crisis, including the formation of the HOPE NOW Alliance, the development of the subprime fast-track loan modification plan and Treasury's efforts to kick-start a covered bond market in the United States.

Before joining the Bush administration, he was a vice president at Goldman, Sachs & Co. in San Francisco, where he led the firm's Information Technology Security Investment Banking practice, advising public and private companies on mergers and acquisitions and financial transactions.

Prior to that, Kashkari worked in research and development at TRW in Redondo Beach, Calif., where he developed technology for NASA space science missions.

The Ohio native holds degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of Pennslvania's business school, the Wharton School.