Volcker Plans to Join Wolfensohn Firm As Chairman and to Teach at Princeton
The great Volcker sweepstakes is over.</br></br>Former Federal Reserve Board Chairman Paul A. Volcker ended months of deliberation by announcing that he will become the chairman of James D. Wolfensohn Inc., a New York investment banking firm, and teach part time at Princeton University.</br></br>The choice of a small firm by the 60-year-old Mr. Volcker came as surprise to many on Wall Street, where big investment banks had been vying energetically for his services. "I had lots of discussions and offers from various firms," Mr. Volcker admitted. "I was very close to doing one or two other things."</br></br>The winner in the Volcker sweepstakes was James D. Wolfensohn, 54, who set up the firm in 1981. Though widely known to Wall Street professionals, Mr. Wolfensohn has generally maintained a low profile. Before now, he has been most visible in the roles he played in the federal government's bailout of Chrysler Corp. and on CBS Inc.'s board.</br></br>As an investment banker with Salomon Brothers in the 1970s, he served as a leading strategist in the successful effort to avert a bankruptcy-law filing by Chrysler, helping to engineer a controversial federal loan guarantee that played a crucial role in the rescue. As Fed chairman, Mr. Volcker sat on the Chrysler Loan Guarantee Board.