With the choice of David Solomon to succeed Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman Sachs may be diversifying away from its core trading business in favor of other business units such as investment banking. Solomon's chief rival for the job, Harvey Schwartz, abruptly resigned once Solomon was selected.
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Behind the Goldman Sachs Race to the Top Was a Quiet Battle for Blankfein's Favor
Solomon and Schwartz have been directly competing for Blankfein’s endorsement -- and by extension, a shot at the top job -- since being promoted to co-presidents in late 2016, after Gary Cohn, Blankfein’s longtime No. 2 executive, left to join President Donald Trump’s administration. Schwartz, 54, started with advantages in his visibility with investors, having served as chief financial officer for three years, and his knowledge of the firm’s largest business, the trading division. Solomon, 56, known for passions from skiing to wine collecting to moonlighting as an electronic music disc jockey, sought to close the gaps in his professional experience and play up his work building businesses.
