One among Silicon Valley’s star funding bankers is anticipated to take a senior job on the Commerce Division, turning into the newest individual from the tech sector to hitch the Trump administration.
Michael Grimes, the co-leader of Morgan Stanley’s international know-how banking apply, is anticipated to take a senior position on the company, which oversees worldwide commerce and different cross-border issues, in response to three individuals with data of Mr. Grimes’s transfer. His exact position on the company has not but been finalized.
Mr. Grimes is considered one of Silicon Valley’s most outstanding bankers. He suggested Elon Musk on his $44 billion buy of Twitter in 2022, serving to join Mr. Musk with corporations and people to assist finance the acquisition. Mr. Grimes’s colleague in that high-wire act, Anthony Armstrong, has already assumed a role at the Office of Personnel Management, the federal human-resources company that has taken on Mr. Musk’s heavy imprint.
Mr. Grimes turned a quasi-celebrity on the planet of funding banking as he shepherded lots of the largest and buzziest know-how corporations into the general public markets. Mr. Grimes led the preliminary public choices for landmark corporations like Fb in 2012 and, in 2019, Uber — a deal that Mr. Grimes gained after working as an Uber driver in an effort to impress the corporate’s administration.
The New York Instances had previously reported that Mr. Grimes was in talks for some administration position. Mr. Grimes didn’t reply to a request for remark.
Quite a few prime Silicon Valley executives have adopted Mr. Musk into the federal authorities, some as a part of an effort that Mr. Musk has referred to as the Division of Authorities Effectivity. Mr. Trump cultivated the tech trade’s billionaires and corporations throughout his election marketing campaign and presidential transition.
The Commerce Division performs an more and more necessary position in overseeing the know-how sector. It’s accountable for U.S. export controls, which regulate what number of high-tech chips go to China, and guides the federal government’s coverage on synthetic intelligence. The division can be accountable for meting out tens of billions of {dollars} of subsidies to construct up semiconductor manufacturing and increase broadband entry in the USA.
On the Commerce Division, Mr. Grimes will hyperlink up with one other Wall Avenue veteran, Howard Lutnick. Mr. Lutnick is anticipated to be confirmed for the position of commerce secretary after testifying earlier than a Senate committee on Wednesday. Mr. Grimes was current within the listening to room to observe his possible future boss, one of many individuals stated.