White House names former auto task force member to pension advisory board

The White House said late Tuesday it plans to nominate a former key member of the Obama administration’s auto restructuring team to an advisory committee to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

Harry J. Wilson, who unsuccessfully ran for New York State comptroller in November as a Republican, also was recently named to Van Buren Township-based Visteon Corp board of directors.

Wilson, who focused on the Treasury Department’s restructuring of General Motors, is chairman and chief executive officer of MAEVA Advisors LLC, a turnaround and restructuring advisory firm based in Scarsdale, N.Y.

The White House said in a statement that Wilson “served as a senior member of the team at the US Treasury Department overseeing the restructurings of General Motors and Chrysler. Mr. Wilson has deep expertise in corporate restructuring and has invested across a broad array of asset classes throughout his career.”

He was previously a partner at Silver Point Capital.

Visteon – spun off by Ford Motor Co. – exited bankruptcy in October 2010 after a 16-month bankruptcy stay, largely owned by its lenders. Unlike many other parts companies, Visteon did not terminate its pension plans in bankruptcy — though the company initially proposed doing so.