Doug Mills/The New York TimesRobert Wolf was among the leading fund-raisers for President Obama’s campaign.During his 29-year career on Wall Street, Robert Wolf has amassed a contact list full of boldface names from the worlds of finance and politics, up to and including President Obama.
Now the deal maker is drawing upon that list as he expands the advisory shop he formed last summer.
Mr. Wolf was expected to formally announce on Monday the hiring of several executives for his firm, 32 Advisors, including former members of the Obama administration. Among them are Austan D. Goolsbee, the former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers; Barry Johnson, who headed a White House initiative to encourage foreign investment in the United States; and Kevin Varney, until recently the senior vice president and chief of staff of the Export-Import Bank.
“I realized there were many gaps in our country, gaps which I wouldn’t have been as aware of were I not working with the president,” Mr. Wolf said in an interview on Friday.
The new firm is a big change for Mr. Wolf, who has spent virtually all of his career working for two major banks. At this time last year, he enjoyed a palatial office spanning much of an entire floor of a Midtown Manhattan skyscraper, one of the perks of being UBS’s chairman of the Americas.
Now he runs 32 Advisors from a smaller corner office, though it still brims with reminders of his proximity to power: photos of himself with Mr. Obama, President Bill Clinton and Senator Edward M. Kennedy, as well as a big autographed picture of David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox.
Mr. Wolf, a former bond salesman who rose through the ranks at Salomon Brothers and then UBS, gained a new perch of prominence in 2006, when he befriended Mr. Obama, then a senator on the cusp of unfurling a run for the presidency. The banker became one of the president’s most outspoken advocates on Wall Street, even as others in finance switched allegiance to Mitt Romney last year.
His new shop is aimed at helping a small number of clients on a variety of issues. Mr. Goolsbee, for instance, will lead the economic intelligence unit and dispense detailed forecasts and analysis. Mr. Johnson will aid foreign companies through the thicket of red tape involved in making big investments in the United States. Many clients of the firm — there are 10 so far, including UBS — will contract for only one topic area.
Mr. Goolsbee said that after leaving the Obama administration, he had considered ways to consult with clients while teaching at the University of Chicago. Then his friend, Mr. Wolf, came up with a solution that appeared to work for both of them.
“He had approached me, and he said, ‘Why not plug in with 32 Advisors doing economic intelligence?’ ” Mr. Goolsbee said in a telephone interview. “There was demand for that private sector kind of thing, and it seemed like a natural fit.”
Mr. Wolf described his pitch to prospective partners this way: “Guys, I’ve watched you for years. Now I want to help you build a business.”
Over time, the firm will add new services, growing to about 10 streams of business. Some that 32 Advisors can’t supply, like a broker-dealer or lobbying, will be handled by external partners.
Mr. Wolf said he is looking forward to his new role as entrepreneur.
“We answer our own phones. It’s humbling,” he said with a laugh. “I’m nervously optimistic. But I’m a pretty confident guy.”