White glove broker-dealer Goldman Sachs has promoted one of its star deal makers to become a co-head of its investment bank.
The firm last Thursday named John Waldron as a co-head of its investment banking division, according to an internal memorandum published by the New York Times. According to the report, the move will put him in charge, along with Richard Gnodde and David Solomon, of running the firm’s prominent corporate advisory practice.
A Goldman Sachs spokesperson confirmed the memo and its contents announcing the apppintment.
Waldron joined the firm in 2000 and has since taken on a number of prominent roles. Among them was serving as co-head of the media and entertainment group and later becoming a global co-head of Goldman’s practice catering to private equity firms.
More recently, he has led the investment bank’s client coverage practice, working on some of the biggest transactions in recent years. He played a leading advisory role in 21st Century Fox’s unsuccessful attempt to buy Time Warner.
The Times reported that Waldron will be taking over the co-head role from John Weinberg, a vice chairman of Goldman and a member of a dynasty at the firm that stretches back to the early 1900s, when Sidney Weinberg helped build the investment bank into one of Wall Street’s elite advisers.
Weinberg will give up day-to-day management of the investment banking division and step back to focus on client development, according to another internal memo. He will remain a member of the management and firmwide client and business standards committees as well as co-head of the firmwide recruiting committee.
Here is the memo, courtesy of the Times:
We are pleased to announce that John E. Waldron has been named co-head of the Investment Banking Division (IBD). John, together with Richard Gnodde and David Solomon, will continue to support the growth of the firm’s global client franchise across our investment banking businesses. John will join the firm’s Management Committee.
John most recently served as global head of Investment Banking Services (IBS)/Client Coverage for IBD. From 2007 to 2010, he was based in London, where he was first global co-head of the Financial Sponsors Group and then led IBS/Client Coverage. Previously, he was co-head of Leveraged Finance from 2005 to 2007 and co-head of the Media and Entertainment Group from 2002 to 2005. John joined Goldman Sachs in 2000 and was named partner in 2002.
As a long-tenured leader in IBD and founder of the IBS Leadership Group, John has helped us to develop many of the firm’s most important client relationships and to drive our global coverage strategy.
He has been an influential voice on a number of firmwide and divisional committees, including the Firmwide Capital Committee, IBD Executive Committee, IBD Operating Committee, and IBD Client and Business Standards Committee. John also serves as a member of the Americas Diversity Committee.
Please join us in congratulating John on his expanded responsibilities and wishing him continued success.
Lloyd C. Blankfein