Goldman picks Sarsfield as co-head of asset management: sources

[NEW YORK] Goldman Sachs Group is promoting Luke Sarsfield to co-head of its asset-management business, putting an end to an anomaly atop one of its key units.

Chief executive officer David Solomon is set to disclose the leadership change this week in a division that oversees US$1.7 trillion in assets, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Sarsfield's promotion elevates him alongside Julian Salisbury, who had sole charge over the business for much of last year. That was an oddity at Goldman Sachs, which typically tasks at least 2 executives with running key money-making operations.

A spokesperson for Goldman Sachs declined to comment.

Goldman Sachs restructured its business lines in 2020 and combined its investment-management arm with its merchant bank, creating a new unit that posted almost US$15 billion in revenue last year. The firm had for several months left the role alongside Salisbury vacant after previous co-head Eric Lane announced his departure last March.

Sarsfield, 48, spent about 20 years as a dealmaker, including various leadership roles in that group, before being tapped to run sales for asset-management in 2019. In that role, he was responsible for cultivating ties with the firm's institutional and retail clients. He now gets to run the business with Salisbury, who has a background as an investor at the firm.

With the change, Solomon would have installed at least 1 executive from investment banking, the division he used to previously run, in a leadership role in each of Goldman's 4 business lines.

BLOOMBERG