By Zilber
Two longtime Goldman Sachs partners have reportedly threatened to quit after they were passed over for a position on a top committee established under CEO David Solomon.
Mark Sorrell, who co-heads mergers and acquisitions in the firm’s London office, and Gonzalo Garcia, who co-heads the European investment banking division, have indicated they may resign after they were left off a new committee formed in the global banking and markets unit, according to Financial Times.
The two were left off even as co-heads who work alongside both men – Stephan Feldgoise in mergers and acquisitions and Anthony Gutman in European investment banking – were included in the dozen-member committee, FT reported.
A representative for Goldman Sachs declined to comment.
The committee members were picked by the two co-heads of Goldman’s combined investment banking and markets division, Dan Dees and Ashok Varadhan.
The division initially had three co-heads, but Jim Esposito announced his departure from the investment banking giant last month.
Esposito was considered a possible successor to Solomon, who has consolidated power by winning the backing of the bank’s board.
Earlier this week, Bloomberg News reported that Beth Hammack, the co-head of Goldman’s financing group and one of the company’s most senior women executives, announced that she was leaving.
Sorrell, who has been with Goldman since 1994, and Garcia, who joined the bank in 1999, would be the most senior executives to leave the bank if they follow through on their threat.
Last week, Goldman revealed that Solomon received a 24% pay bump last year, which pushed his compensation to $31 million, despite the bank reporting its worst annual profit numbers in four years.
“The Board recognized David’s leadership directing the firm – especially in making the tough decisions to narrow our focus, to swiftly execute the strategy, and to continue to deliver results for shareholders,” a Goldman Sachs spokesperson told The Post last week.
Solomon’s management style has been the subject of reported grumbling among rank-and-file who were said to be irked by his moonlighting as a DJ as well as use of a private jet.
The bank reported net income of $8.5 billion for 2023 – the lowest level since 2019, a year after Solomon took over from Lloyd Blankfein.
Goldman also reported a return on equity, a key gauge of profitability, of 7.5%, well short of the bank’s target of 14% to 16%.
Much of that was due to Goldman exiting money-losing fintech startup GreenSky, selling it to a consortium of investors led by private equity firm Sixth Street.
