Timothy Geithner, former US Treasury secretary, will be starting a new career in the private sector in Warburg Pincus LLC. His choice to work for a US buyout firm was contradictory to the work he had done as a top government official during the worst financial crisis since The Great Depression, Bloomberg said in its report.

Geithner's legacy at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the US Treasury was tied to the bailout packages extended to big companies that included American International Group Inc, General Motors Co and Citigroup Inc, Bloomberg noted. A individua who was familiar with how Geithner thinks said Geithner views private equity quite differently as from the banking world.

Nonetheless, Geithner will be starting at Warburg on March 1 as the president of the buyout firm.

Co-chief executive officer of Warburg Pincus. Joe Landy said, "As private equity evolves and as our investing practices and funding models continue to develop, Tim's record of leadership through economic and market complexity will be of critical importance."

Geithner's role was to help manage the buyout firm, make investment decisions and communicate with investors, said Warburg in its statement. Geithner would be working with Landy and co-CEO Chip Kaye.

Geithner's career under the Obama Administration in 2008 was marred by crises, Bloomberg said. The US had bailed out AIG and allowed Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc to go bankrupt. He also helped managed the Troubled Asset Relief Program of the US Treasury, which involved bailing out firms including GM. USD421.6 billion of taxpayer money was disbursed as of November 14 to help bail out companies, with USD406.5 billion of the money repaid.

Investment firms had been hiring former top government officials to fill in roles that are similar to Geithner's. Former U.S. Vice President Dan Quayle and former Treasury Secretary Snow saw a career after government work at private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP, according to the company website. Carlyle Group LP had former U.K. Prime Minister John Major and former President George H.W. Bush as its advisers at one point.