David M. Solomon

After joining Goldman Sachs in 1999, Solomon became CEO in 2018. He has worked in their New York City offices since the early 2000s.

He worked with a variety of Goldman Sachs managers during the late 1990s which inspired his move to the firm in 1999 to work with their leveraged finance team as a partner, aged 37.[21] His move from Bear Stearns was "shocking" to contemporaries who believed him to be on the "leadership track at Bear".[22] Starting in 2006, he was promoted to and spent the next ten years leading Goldman's investment banking division.[22] In July 2007, he secured the initial public offering (IPO) of LuLulemon Athletica wearing a maroon blazer and sweatpants, a sampling of the company's clothing to "throw everyone off" in a suit-required meeting.[23] During his time as head, he implemented "year-end compensation roundtables" where he would pepper the executives with questions about their business practices in order to "weed out under-performers".[24] Upon his departure, he was credited with professionalizing the investment banking division and doubling profit margins from 11% to 22% with sales rising by 70%.[24][25] In April 2014, Sheldon Adelson, a client of his from Drexel Burnham, offered Solomon operational control over the Las Vegas Sands casinos.[26] Solomon declined the offer because Adelson "wasn’t willing to give up day-to-day control, and [he] didn’t want to be an understudy."[27] Despite Goldman Sachs not disclosing his total compensation packages, SEC and IRS filings indicate that Solomon was paid a base salary of US$1.85 million with an award of restricted stock worth about $10 million in January 2015.[28] After Gary Cohn resigned from Goldman to become the Chief Economic Advisor to Donald Trump, the 45th President of the United States, Solomon was elevated to president and co-chief operating officer along with Harvey Schwartz in December 2016.[11][29] In a series of interviews in October 2017, Solomon detailed his advice for students and future employees at Goldman: know how to write and speak publicly, know accounting, and never lose sight of what you are passionate about.[30] Under Solomon's leadership, the bank has increased pay for programmers, loosened dress codes, modernized computer systems, instituted video interviews, and created a "real-time performance review" system for new employees.[31] Solomon received $11.85 million compensation package in January 2017 and January 2018.[32][33] It was estimated that Solomon holds 224,030 (0.059%) shares of Goldman Sachs Group (GS) which was valued at $58 million in January 2018.[34] In March 2020, in the midst of a slowing world and US economy, while thousands of people were potentially about to lose their jobs[35], Solomon was granted some US$27.5 million in compensation. This was made up of his base pay which was a $2 million salary as well as a $7.65 million cash bonus. On top of that he also was granted $17.85 million in long-term incentive. [36]

On March 12, 2018 Goldman announced that Schwartz, the company's co-chief operating officer and president would be resigning, leaving Solomon as the second-in-command.[37] Hours after the announcement, media outlets–both domestic and international–informally designated Solomon as Lloyd Blankfein's sole heir apparent.[26][2][38] At a board meeting on February 21, 2018 Blankfein expressed an interest and preference for Solomon to succeed him.[39][40][41] During March 2018, Solomon has repeatedly advocated for a reformation of Goldman's company culture.[42] He expressed an interest in lowering the maximum hours worked during normal business days from somewhere near 90 hours a week, to somewhere near 70 to 75 hours a week, when not actively engaged in closing a deal.[43] Prior to assuming the company's presidency, he tracked the hours worked by his subordinates and frequently stepped in to send employees home.[43] Solomon took office as the chief executive officer (CEO) of the firm on October 1, 2018.[3]

He also serves on the board of directors of the Robin Hood Foundation, a charitable organization which attempts to alleviate problems caused by poverty in New York City.[44]