A longtime Goldman Sachs banker, Gene T. Sykes, has been named to the firm’s management committee, according to an internal memo.
Mr. Sykes is one of Goldman’s best-known bankers. He joined Goldman 30 years ago when the firm had just 19 investment bankers in its merger and acquisitions group. He specializes in technology, media and telecommunications companies as well as health care firms. Over the years he has advised companies including General Electric and Walt Disney.
Goldman has seen a number of senior executives leave the firm in recent months, including several members of the firm’s powerful 29-member management committee, which includes Lloyd C. Blankfein, firm chairman and chief executive officer. Mr. Sykes’s appointment to the committee is likely to be well received within the firm because he comes from investment banking, a less controversial division of Goldman. The firm’s trading operations have criticized lately for putting their own needs ahead of clients, something the firm denies.
Below is a copy of the memo from Mr. Blankfein and Gary D. Cohn, the firm’s president:
We are pleased to announce that Gene T. Sykes has been named to the Management Committee.
Gene is head of Global Mergers & Acquisitions and chairman of Global Technology, Media and Telecommunications Investment Banking. He is also a member of the Client and Business Standards Committee. Gene joined the firm in 1984 in the Mergers & Acquisitions Department in New York and moved to Los Angeles in 1987. He was named partner in 1992.
Gene has played a vital role in strengthening our investment banking franchise, particularly with respect to many of the most significant companies in technology and media. He is a trusted advisor to a number of our clients, and his deep understanding of their businesses and how the firm’s culture of teamwork and client service helps them to achieve their objectives will be a valuable addition to the Management Committee.
Please join us in congratulating Gene on his appointment.
Lloyd C. Blankfein
Gary D. Cohn