Meet the front-runner to replace Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein
There’s now a clear frontrunner in the race to succeed long-time Goldman Sachs (GS) CEO, Lloyd Blankfein.
That person is David Solomon, the bank’s co-president and co-COO.
On Monday, Goldman Sachs announced that Harvey Schwartz, the firm’s other president and co-COO, would retire next month and that Solomon would become the sole executive in those roles.
Schwartz, 52, spent 20 years at Goldman Sachs, holding many roles, including co-heading the securities and investment banking divisions and serving as the chief financial officer.
“Harvey’s work ethic, command of complexity, and client focus have defined his career at the firm. Harvey has been a mentor to many, and his influence has made an indelible impact on generations of professionals at Goldman Sachs. I want to thank Harvey for all he’s done for the firm,” Blankfein said in a statement.
Schwartz and Solomon were not quoted in the announcement.
Lately, there’s been a great deal of speculation about who might take Blankfein’s place.
Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Blankfein could retire as soon as the end of the year. Blankfein later tweeted that he hasn’t made an announcement.
It's the @WSJ's announcement…not mine. I feel like Huck Finn listening to his own eulogy.
— Lloyd Blankfein (@lloydblankfein) March 9, 2018
Blankfein, 63, is one of the longest-serving CEOs at a bulge bracket bank having been in the role for 12 years. What’s more, Blankfein and JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon are the only two remaining big bank CEOs from the 2008 financial crisis.
Solomon, 55, joined Goldman Sachs in 1999 as a partner, one of the most coveted roles on Wall Street and a clear sign of his seniority at the time. Before his current role, he co-headed the investment banking division and served as the global head of the financing group.
Prior to Goldman, Solomon spent nearly nine years at Bear Stearns. Before that, he did stints at Salomon Brothers and Drexel Burnham Lambert.
Outside of the office, he serves on the board of The Robin Hood Foundation, an organization dedicated to fighting poverty. His other extracurricular activities including moonlighting as D.J. D-Sol.
Solomon graduated from Hamilton College with a bachelor’s degree in political science. He serves on Hamilton’s board of trustees.
“I look forward to continuing to work closely with David in building our franchise around the world, serving our expanding client base and delivering strong returns for our shareholders,” Blankfein said in Monday’s announcement.
Julia La Roche is a finance reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter.
