President Barack Obama has tapped Adewale “Wally” Adeyemo, who served in top roles at the Treasury Department, to succeed Caroline Atkinson as his deputy national security adviser for international economic affairs.
Ms. Atkinson has served in her current post since June 2013, a position that includes coordinating U.S. participation in the annual summits of the Group of 20 and Group of Seven countries. Ms. Atkinson also played key roles in the recently concluded climate negotiations in Paris and in pushing the White House’s trade agenda, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement.
Mr. Adeyemo, 34, joined the White House’s National Economic Council as deputy director this fall from the Treasury, where he served most recently as the deputy chief of staff to Secretary Jacob Lew. He was the Treasury’s lead negotiator on the currency agreement that was part of the Pacific trade deal.
Mr. Adeyemo also worked on Treasury’s response to crises in Ukraine and Greece and in 2010 was one of the first officials charged with standing up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
