Goldman Sachs has appointed its president and chief operating officer, John Waldron, to its board of directors. This decision comes a month after Waldron received a retention bonus, further solidifying his status as a potential successor to CEO David Solomon. At 55, Waldron joins Solomon, 63, as the second member of the management committee to hold a board seat. “It does appear that firmer succession planning is underway,” noted Stephen Biggar, a banking analyst at Argus Research. The bonuses, which vest in five years, were granted to both Solomon and Waldron as part of an effort by Goldman’s board to retain top leadership, the bank announced last month. Waldron, who has served as president and COO since October 2018, oversees the leaders of the bank’s three main divisions. He previously co-headed investment banking, a role he assumed in 2014 after joining Goldman in 2000. Gary Cohn, a former president of the firm, previously served on the board alongside Solomon’s predecessor, Lloyd Blankfein. Cohn left Goldman in late 2016 to serve as an economic adviser in President Donald Trump’s administration and lead the White House National Economic Council. In a related move, the bank also announced the addition of Accenture’s Chief Financial Officer, KC McClure, as an independent director on the board. — news from New York Post
