On Monday morning, it was announced that Goldman Sachs would be elevating David Solomon to become the sole president of the nearly 150-year old investment bank. Solomon came up in the business as a product specialist and he understands markets — and he understands risks. Vanity Fair writes that Solomon will be a “safe pair of hands” to lead the franchise forward in the coming years. In recent months, the Trump administration has ushered in both a return to volatility and less regulation — both of which will be good for Goldman’s trading businesses. Solomon is going to focus on reigniting the firm’s growth, and Vanity Fair believes that if and when the Federal Reserve allows the big banks to once again partake in acquisitions, Solomon and Goldman to make some long overdue big strategic moves. Solomon is not a purebred Goldman banker, unlike the firm’s past leaders. He started his career as a junk-bond salesman at Drexel Burnham Lambert back when Michael Milken invented the market for junk bonds. He then headed to Bear Stearns, and was there for about a decade, before heading to Goldman in 1999. He deejays in his spare time under the name D.J. D-Sol. He was a big fan of Hillary Clinton and at his previous two firms, Solomon had the opportunity to do business with Donald Trump, and neither experience was happy. He also wants to change the Goldman culture from the “high-powered sweatshop” to a place that has a healthy work-life balance with people working at most 70 hours a week when not in the middle of a deal. Under his leadership, Goldman has already made big changes for both senior and junior bankers.
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