Goldman Sachs announces leadership shakeup

Crains New York

• Goldman Sachs named John Waldron as president and chief operating officer, effective Oct. 1, according to an internal memo sent to staff Thursday. 
• Stephen Scherr will become chief financial officer, replacing Marty Chavez, who will move to become one of three co-heads of the firm’s securities division, according to another memo. 
• David Solomon, set to replace Lloyd Blankfein as CEO on Oct. 1, wanted to name his management team before taking on the role, according to a person with knowledge of his thinking. 

Goldman Sachs announced a big shakeup to its leadership team Thursday as incoming CEO David Solomon moved to put his management team in place before taking over from Lloyd Blankfein. 

Goldman named John Waldron, one of three co-heads of the investment banking division, to president and chief operating officer, and effectively Solomon’s No. 2, according to memos the firm sent to employees today. Waldron’s new role will become effective Oct. 1.  

Stephen Scherr, the head of the consumer and commercial banking division, will become as chief financial officer, as CFO Marty Chavez shifts to become one of three co-heads of the securities division.

“Having worked together over the course of their careers at the firm in a number of different businesses, John and Stephen bring the right complement of skills to help lead the firm through their respective roles,” Blankfein and Solomon said in the memo. 

Chavez, who will become a vice chairman, joins Ashok Varadhan and Jim Esposito atop the division. 

“Marty’s unique experience as chief information officer (CIO) and chief financial officer (CFO) will be critical to helping lead Securities and ensuring that we are best positioned to serve our clients, develop market-leading electronic platforms and deploy our capital effectively,” according to a second memo. 

Solomon sent a voicemail to the management team today announcing the changes. In it, he said Chavez and Solomon began discussing this new role back in July, once the timetable for Solomon’s rise became clear, according to a person who heard the call. 

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