William Daley, the former gubernatorial candidate in Illinois and White House Chief of Staff, decided to return to the financial industry. He joined Swiss hedge fund Argentiere Capital as managing partner and head of its U.S. operations, according to a report from the Chicago Tribune.
Daley wants to work at a startup
In an interview, Daley told the Chicago Tribune that he wanted to have an opportunity to work with a company that has potential to grow. According to him, he “hit it off” with Deepak Gulati, the founder of Argentiere Capital and former head of global proprietary trading at JP Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM).
Daley previously worked as head of corporate responsibility at JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) before joining the administration of President Barack Obama in 2011.
“Everything I’ve done has been at big firms, big law firms, government. This is my first startup. I wanted the chance to be a part of something that will grow,” said Daley.
Daley also previously served as secretary of commerce during the administration of President Bill Clinton for three years. Prior to that, he worked as an attorney and as president of the Amalgamated Bank of Chicago
Last summer, Daley waded into the political arena in Illinois and started campaigning for governor, but eventually left the race because he felt uncomfortable with it.
Real asset to the hedge fund
Daley and Gulati were introduced by James E. Daley, a former head of investment banking at JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) who is currently working at hedge fund, Blue Mountain Capital Management.
According to Gulati, Daley is a real asset for Argentiere Capital. He said, “The expertise and experience that Bill has in the real asset for what we do. It gives us a far better understanding of the world.”
Gulati launched Argentiere Capital in June, and it is focused on volatility trades. The hedge fund was named after a skiing village in the French Alps. Its headquarters is based in Zug Switzerland.
Daley said one of the unique characteristics of Argentiere, if not most important is the fact that its traders “have been working together and stayed together.” He added, “They haven’t had to build a new team … which is a tough thing to make mesh.”
