Michael McRaith, the former director of the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Federal Insurance Office, has joined Blackstone Group L.P., the New York-based investment firm announced on Monday.

Mr. McRaith will be a managing director for Blackstone Insurance Solutions, a recently formed unit that provides investment advice and other investment-related products to insurers, and will be based in New York, according to a Blackstone statement.

In January, Blackstone hired Chris Blunt, former president of New York Life Insurance Co.’s investments group, as a senior managing director and chief executive officer of Blackstone Insurance Solutions. Mr. McRaith will serve on the unit’s senior management team, reporting to Mr. Blunt. 

“Michael McRaith is widely respected in the insurance world and his leadership experience at the state, federal and international levels make him a great addition to our team,” Mr. Blunt said in the statement.

From 2011 to 2017, Mr. McRaith served in the Obama Administration as the inaugural FIO director, the first U.S. federal office focused on national and global insurance matters. Mr. McRaith advised the Treasury Secretary on domestic and international insurance issues, including on the covered agreement reached between the United States and the European Union to deal with the U.S. lack of equivalency under the EU’s Solvency II directive.

A replacement FIO director has not been named.

Prior to becoming FIO director, Mr. McRaith served more than six years as director of the Illinois Department of Insurance and was an officer of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

Affiliates of Blackstone manage capital for many insurance companies, including Fidelity & Guaranty Life, where Blackstone Insurance Solutions oversees all $22 billion of its assets under management, according to the statement. In addition, Blackstone established Harrington Reinsurance, a property and casualty reinsurance company, in July 2016 and currently manages all general account assets.

Blackstone Insurance Solutions expects to make additional hires in the coming weeks and months, according to the statement.