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Goldman Sachs is moving toward its first leadership change in nearly a decade. The Wall Street Journal reported Monday, Sept. 28, that the bank’s board has discussed a plan for David Solomon to step down as chief executive and be replaced by President and Chief Operating Officer John Waldron, with the handover targeted around late 2027 or 2028.
What happened
Citing people familiar with the matter, the Journal said directors could formally approve the transition in the coming months, though the timing is fluid. Under the plan, Solomon, 64, would stay on as executive chairman of the board for one to two years after stepping down as CEO. Waldron, 57, has been president and COO since 2018 and has long been viewed as the heir apparent.
A Goldman spokesman, Tony Fratto, said the board regularly discusses succession and that “there is no definitive timeline.” Waldron had engaged in serious talks to lead Apollo Global Management and Carlyle in recent years, and Goldman responded by awarding both him and Solomon $80 million retention packages in January 2025 and adding Waldron to the board. The firm has been shifting duties tied to Waldron’s COO role — including an AI transformation called “OneGS 3.0” — to finance chief Denis Coleman over the past year.
Why it matters
Solomon’s run since October 2018 has been a tale of two halves. A costly foray into consumer lending burned roughly $7 billion before Goldman retreated, but the subsequent refocus on its core businesses — dealmaking, trading, and wealth management — pushed the stock to quadruple under his tenure, trading near record highs around $917 with a market cap near $272 billion. Shares slipped about 2% on the day the report landed, a sign the market reads this as continuity rather than disruption.
Waldron is known as a master dealmaker with deep corporate and government relationships, which matters now: with the midterm elections weeks away and AI-capex financing booming, the bank’s franchise value rests on its rainmakers. An orderly handover removes the succession overhang that has periodically pressured the stock.
What to watch
- Board approval timing over the coming months
- Who fills the president/COO seat Waldron would vacate, and whether Denis Coleman is in line
- How long Solomon remains executive chairman — and whether he exits entirely after 1-2 years
- Goldman’s Q3 earnings and the deal pipeline heading into 2027
Related reading: https://bullounge.com/forums/topic/goldman-sachs-hyperscalers-need-1-42t-in-revenue-to-justify-ai-capex/
Sources: WSJ | Reuters | NY Post
Do you think an orderly handover to Waldron keeps Goldman’s momentum going, or does the bank need a sharper break?
Auto-posted by the Bull Lounge news desk.
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