Harry Wilson (businessman)

Harry J. Wilson (born October 25, 1971) is a former investor and restructuring expert[1] from the United States, who has served in several high positions in the Obama U.S. Treasury Department and on President Barack Obama's Auto Industry Task Force.[2] Wilson filed for office on February 16, 2010, running unopposed for the Republican primary for New York State Comptroller.[3] He ran unsuccessfully against Thomas DiNapoli for Comptroller in the general election on November 2, 2010.[4][5][6]

Harry Wilson
Personal details
Born (1971-10-25) October 25, 1971
Johnstown, New York, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Eva Romas
Children4
Alma materHarvard University

Early life and education

Harry Wilson is the son of Jim and Niki Wilson. Jim was a resident of Johnstown, New York, and Niki was born and raised in central Greece before moving to Johnstown. They currently reside in Chelmsford, Massachusetts. Jim was a bartender, and Niki was a housewife and later a sewing machine operator.[2]

Wilson graduated as valedictorian from Johnstown High School, of Johnstown, New York.[7] He obtained an AB with honors in government and an MBA from Harvard University,[8] where he was president of the Harvard Republican Club in 1991; in that role, Wilson was outspoken in his efforts to increase the club's appeal to women with a "big tent" approach.[2]

Business career

Wilson has worked for Blackstone Group and Goldman Sachs. He later became a partner at Silver Point Capital before his retirement at the age of 36.[2] He joined Yahoo!'s board of directors in May 2012.[9]

Harry is currently CEO of the MAEVA Group, a merchant bank focused on turnaround and distressed companies that has advised Radio Shack, True Religion Jeans, Armstrong Energy and YRC Worldwide.

Public career

After a career as a money management executive, Wilson left the business world to pursue charity work and public service at the age of 36.[2]

Wilson served on President Barack Obama's auto industry crisis task force.[1][10] He took the position at the age of 37 with the Treasury Department in March, 2009 at the request of Steve Rattner, the lead adviser on the auto industry crisis.[2][11] Wilson lead a small group of people within the auto task force known internally as the "deals and diligence team," which did much of the analytical research that underpinned the task force's policy decisions, conducting interviews, touring auto plants and poring over financial records.[2] Wilson testified in GM's bankruptcy court hearings in the Southern District Bankruptcy Court of New York in July, 2009, noting that the government intends to sell its shares in the bankrupt GM.[12]

Wilson was also one of four senior advisers for the U.S. Treasury Department under President Obama.[11]

In 2009, Wilson was a member of Westchester County Executive-elect Rob Astorino's transition team.[1]

Wilson considered running for Governor in the 2018 New York gubernatorial race against incumbent Andrew Cuomo, and had vowed to spend $10 million of his own money on the campaign.[13] Though he was regarded as a favorite by some Republican leaders, in December 2017 he announced his decision not to run, as he did not want to spend the time away from his family.[14][15]

New York State Comptroller race

In the 2010 race for New York State Comptroller, Wilson announced he was running on February 16, 2010, for the Republican primary for New York State Comptroller.[3] He ran unopposed for the nomination, and ran against incumbent Thomas DiNapoli for Comptroller in the general election on November 2, 2010.

Wilson garnered the endorsement of New York City's three major daily newspapers - the New York Daily News, New York Post, and New York Times - considered a major achievement.[16] It was the first time since 1976 that a challenger had accomplished sweeping all three endorsements.[16]

Wilson lost in a close race on November 2, 2010, and he conceded defeat on November 3, 2010.[4][5][6] Despite the loss, Capitol News rated his campaign the best in 2010 in all of New York state.[17]

Fundraising for Republican candidates

In 2012, Wilson raised funds for the campaigns of Republican candidates Matt Doheny for Congress and Wendy E. Long for the United States Senate.[18]

Personal life

He married Eva Romas in 1997. They have four daughters and live in Scarsdale, New York.[8]

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References
  1. "Former Hedge Fund Manager Eyeing Bid For Comptroller". December 17, 2009. Retrieved 2012-10-23.
  2. Helliker, Kevin (May 29, 2009). "Key Players in the Overhaul of General Motors". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2010-01-19.
  3. "Harry Wilson for Comptroller, Officially". February 16, 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-15.
  4. Celeste Katz (November 3, 2010). "Harry Wilson Concedes In State Comptroller Race". Daily News. New York. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012. Retrieved November 23, 2010.
  5. Sam Dolnick (November 3, 2010). "Thomas DiNapoli Re-Elected Comptroller in a Tight Race". New York Times. Retrieved November 23, 2010.
  6. "DiNapoli Wins with Late Comptroller Returns". LongIslandPress.com. November 3, 2010. Archived from the original on November 9, 2010. Retrieved November 23, 2010.
  7. Subik, Jason (16 May 2010). "Wilson recalls roots in office bid". Daily Gazette. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  8. Written Testimony of Harry Wilson, Former Senior Advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury, Before the House Committee on TARP, Financial Services Bailouts of Public and Private Programs - Biography July 10, 2012
  9. "Yahoo! Names Fred Amoroso Chairman and Appoints Ross Levinsohn Interim CEO". Yahoo! Investor. Archived from the original on 25 September 2013. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  10. Danny Hakim (April 19, 2010). "A Candidate Makes an Asset of His Wall Street Past". New York Times. Retrieved 2010-10-18.
  11. "Area native on Obama's fiscal team". May 9, 2009. Retrieved 2010-01-19.
  12. "Auto Task Force Adviser Wilson Sees General Motors IPO in 2010". Bloomberg. July 2, 2009. Retrieved 2010-01-19.
  13. Campanile, Carl (26 November 2017). "NY GOP wants Harry Wilson to take out Cuomo". New York Post. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  14. Lovett, Kenneth (25 September 2017). "LOVETT: Harry Wilson could easily land GOP nomination to run against Gov. Cuomo, top Republican says". NY Daily News. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  15. Lovett, Kenneth (31 December 2017). "Republican business whiz Harry Wilson won't run for New York governor in 2018". NY Daily News. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  16. David W. Chen, "Endorsement Sweep in the Comptroller's race", New York Times October 20, 2010.
  17. Capitol News, November 15, 2010, p. 10. Online at Capitol News website Archived 2010-11-22 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed December 2, 2010.
  18. Katz, Celeste (October 2, 2012). "Wendy Long, NY GOP Fundraising, Bashing Kirtsen Gillibrand in November Runup". Daily News. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
Party political offices
Preceded by
Christopher Callaghan		 Republican nominee for New York State Comptroller
2010		 Succeeded by
Robert Antonacci
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