Petraeus Lands New Job With Private Equity Firm KKR

Former CIA Director David Petraeus has been hired by the giant private equity firm KKR, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

Petraeus, who resigned from the agency last November in the wake of an affair with his biographer Paula Broadwell, will head the new KKR Global Institute, which will focus on macro-economic and geopolitical trends, public policy, and advising on investments in emerging markets.

Company executives said Petraeus' experience as CIA director and an Army general who was in charge of U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan will help the company evaluate investment risks around the world.

Ken Mehlman, KKR's global head of public affairs and a former Republican National Committee chairman, said that even though Petraeus has "made an unfortunate personal misjudgment for which he's apologized," he is still "someone who has served in an incredibly effective and, in some ways, heroic way."

He said the former general's experience and leadership "will be very helpful to us."

Mehlman also noted that Petraeus' involvement in the company would be much more active than a simple consulting role.

"It's not like we're just putting a name on the door," he said.