Who is Neel Kashkari? and Why is He Qualified to Deal with the $700 Billion Bail-out?

Neel Kashkari is going to be a name that the American people, especially those with a stake in Wall Street, become quite familiar with in the coming days, weeks, and months. On Monday, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson announced that he would be appointing Kashkari and the interim head of the Treasury's new Office of Financial Stability. Primary to that role will be his part in helping shell out the $700 billion in funds that were set aside by the Senate, House of Representatives, and the President of the United States to help avail the financial crisis facing America right now. It is a key appointment, because Kashkari will be heading up a very public, and very important office, which could help dictate how well the $700 billion bailout is spent.

Neel Kashkari is a 35-year old banker, who has been serving as the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for International Economics and Development since he took office on July 9th, 2008. His short term placed him with the task of "developing and executing policies for the Department to foster a more conducive investment climate for the U.S., as well as to support global economic growth." Before that, he had served as a Senior Advisor to the Treasury Secretary, so it shouldn't come as that much of a surprise that Paulson would end up choosing him for the role. They also have ties to Goldman, Sachs & Company out of San Francisco where both Kashkari and Paulson sat on the Board of Executives. In his role with the company, Kashkari "led Goldman's IT Security Investment Banking practice, advising public and private companies on mergers and acquisitions and financial transactions."