U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Feb. 2, 2017 in Washington.Win McNamee/Getty Images
Cerberus Capital Management LP's chief executive, Stephen Feinberg, is in talks to join U.S. President Donald Trump's administration in a senior role, the private-equity firm said on Thursday.
Mr. Feinberg's move would make him the latest Wall Street veteran to serve under Mr. Trump. U.S. Treasury secretary nominee Steven Mnuchin, U.S. Commerce secretary designate Wilbur Ross and Gary Cohn, director of the White House National Economic Council, are just some of the high-profile financiers who have agreed to join Mr. Trump's administration.
It is not clear what role Mr. Feinberg is discussing with Mr. Trump's senior team. His appointment would require him to provide "voluminous information" and disclosures to the Office of Government Ethics and comply with all applicable conflict-of-interest rules and regulations, Cerberus told its investors earlier on Thursday in a letter seen by Reuters.
Cerberus also told its investors that it has a succession plan in place that would result in minimal changes to the current management and operation of the firm.
Mr. Feinberg, who served as one of Trump's economic advisers during his U.S. election campaign, co-founded Cerberus in 1992.
A Princeton graduate, he previously worked at bond trader Drexel Burnham Lambert. Forbes Magazine currently pegs 56-year-old Mr. Feinberg's net worth at $1.25-billion (U.S.).
Cerberus became well known for a $7.4-billion deal it struck in 2007, along with co-investors, to buy an 80-per-cent stake in car maker Chrysler and its financing arm, Chrysler Financial.
Chrysler was pushed to the brink of liquidation in 2009 before a bailout that was the subject of intense debate within the administration of former U.S. President Barack Obama. Cerberus lost control of the auto maker during its restructuring.
In December, 2010, Cerberus struck a deal to sell Chrysler Financial to Toronto-Dominion Bank for $6.3-billion. A source close to Cerberus said at the time that deal meant the private equity firm would end up close to break-even on its investment in Chrysler as a whole.