David Solomon’s Post

I want to commend the 153 incredible students who participated in the fourth Goldman Sachs Market Madness: #HBCU Possibilities Program. Representing 12 HBCUs, they competed in a case study competition where they had to devise and pitch an innovative solution for Nike. The program is part of our $25 million commitment to HBCUs and provides the next generation of talent with hands-on training in the fundamentals of finance, mentorship, and opportunities to network with the people of Goldman Sachs.   This week, after months of preparation, we held the final competition at our New York headquarters, where schools and students were awarded $5 million in grants and scholarships. Congratulations to Victoria, Makhi, Olivia and Symone from Spelman College for winning first place, and thank you to all of this year's participants – we hope to see many of you back at Goldman Sachs.

Our first quarter results reflect the strength of our world-class and interconnected franchises and the earnings power of Goldman Sachs. We continue to execute on our strategy, focusing on our core strengths to serve our clients and deliver for our shareholders.

I had the opportunity to visit with and hear from our employees in our Beijing office last week. I always enjoy visiting China and hearing first-hand from our clients about their perspectives on the local economy. The public narrative is around a transition to a different kind of growth, one that’s more sustainable and consumer-driven. 

My colleague Asahi Pompey and I had the pleasure of meeting with students from Spelman College, Morehouse College, and Clark Atlanta University last week at the Atlanta University Consortium (AUC) Recruiting event. Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have played an essential role in the education of Black Americans for more than 185 years and are an indispensable talent pipeline for the firm. During our fireside chat, Asahi and I talked about the wide range of career opportunities in finance as well as our goal of doubling the number of incoming new hires from HBCUs by 2025. We’ve committed $25 million to HBCUs to provide access to the firm and our people through HBCU Market Madness, our four-month training program in finance fundamentals. Thank you to the students for a great conversation and to Spelman President Dr. Helene Gayle for welcoming us.

Today we published our annual report, and as I note in my letter to shareholders, in 2023 we worked together to refocus the firm’s strategy, while at the same time strengthening our core businesses and serving our clients with excellence. I’m confident that, if we continue to serve our clients well, we will build on last year’s progress and position the firm to deliver strong returns for shareholders. The changing environment and our streamlined strategy are ushering in a new chapter for the firm. When I think about the strength of our market position, the depth and breadth of our client franchise, and the caliber of our people, I couldn’t be more excited about the future of Goldman Sachs.

If you want to have a world-class business, you need to have world-class software, and that means cleaning your code to keep it secure. That was just one of the insights shared during my talk with the CEO and co-founder of SonarSource, Olivier Gaudin, at our ninth annual Disruptive Technology Symposium last week. He made a good argument for why companies should “clean as you code” and always put themselves in the customer’s shoes.   Olivier, thanks for sharing your insights.

As I said at the UBS Financial Services Conference earlier this week, 2023 was a year of execution for Goldman Sachs, and in 2024 we will continue to build on the progress we’ve made.   In Global Banking & Markets, we are well positioned to grow financing revenues and maximize wallet share, while in Asset & Wealth Management, we are confident in our ability to grow management fees and private banking & lending revenues, as well as improve margins and returns.   The firm is filled with extraordinary people, and while the economic environment will vary, I know we will continue to execute on our strategy, serve our clients with excellence, and deliver for shareholders.

Managing directors are responsible for passing on to their teams our core values and culture, as I said to 600+ of our newly promoted MDs this week at their orientation. It’s also important for leaders to run toward problems and tackle them with the same intensity we bring to all of our work. As we enter 2024, I’m excited about the opportunity set for our MDs and all of us at Goldman Sachs, as we continue to strengthen our core businesses and deepen our client franchise. Thanks to our new MDs for letting me join them.

We had a much more benign economic environment than we expected in 2023. There's now a higher probability of a softer landing. And so naturally, people are regaining confidence and deal-making activity is starting to pick up, as I told Allison Nathan on the latest #GSExchanges podcast about the year ahead. Going into 2024, I'm optimistic that we will continue to strengthen our core businesses and deepen our client franchise. Thanks, Allison, for a great conversation. https://lnkd.in/eCrN56sb

At Davos, I joined CNBC Squawk Box where we discussed the growth of our Asset and Wealth Management business, how our One Goldman Sachs ethos is enhancing our client experience, as well as the macro environment and the prospect for rate cuts in 2024. Thank you for having me on during #WEF2024. I’m looking forward to spending more time with our clients in Davos. https://click.gs.com/crwj