Obama May Offer Jobs to Wall Street Execs

WASHINGTON (TheStreet) -- President Obama has reportedly reached out to Wall Street executives to fill open positions in his cabinet as part of a renewed effort to mend ties with the business community.

According to several reports citing anonymous sources, the president is said to be considering William Daley - a top JPMorgan Chase (JPM) executive, former U.S. Commerce Department secretary and part of the longtime mayoral dynasty in Chicago, where Obama grew his political roots - for the chief of staff position.

He is also considering Roger Altman, the founder and chairman of Evercore Partners (EVR) and former Treasury official, among a few candidates to head the National Economic Council.

Both Daley and Altman had served in regulatory roles under former President Clinton. Spokesmen for both executives declined to comment.

Daley would seem a natural fit for Obama's previous chief-of-staff, Rahm Emanuel, who is running to replace Daley's brother as mayor of Chicago. The Daley family has effectively run the city for all but four of the past 55 years.

William Daley has a strong reputation on Wall Street as well as in Democratic circles. He advised Obama during his 2008 presidential bid and served as Commerce secretary from 1997 to 2000 in the Clinton administration.

In May 2004, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon - who has also faced speculation over a potential role in the Obama administration - selected Daley as a Midwest chairman to oversee the integration of mega-banks JPMorgan Chase and Chicago-based BankOne. He also sat on the board of Fannie Mae (FNMA.OB) and advised on other companies' big M&A deals based out of Chicago.

The 62-year-old exec now sits on JPMorgan's executive committee, overseeing corporate responsibility.

Altman is another well-respected veteran of Wall Street and Washington. He began his career at Lehman Brothers in 1974 and also served as vice chairman of Blackstone (BX), in charge of various businesses. In 1996, he launched Evercore Partners, a boutique firm.

The 64-year-old investment banker served as assistant secretary of the U.S. Treasury Department for four years during the Carter administration in the 1970s, as well as deputy secretary for two years under Clinton.

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