The Goldman Sachs board of directors is quietly finalizing a succession plan that would elevate Chief Operating Officer John Waldron to chief executive, replacing David Solomon as early as next year, according to a report.
The blueprint sees Waldron assuming the top job in late 2027 or 2028, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Solomon, 64, would then transition to executive chairman of the board for one to two years. While the exact timeline remains fluid, directors could formally approve the transition in the coming months, the newspaper reported.
The handover would cap a defining decade for Solomon. He weathered a turbulent stretch marked by partner defections, internal grumbling over his side gig as a DJ, and a disastrous foray into consumer lending. That retail banking experiment cost the firm roughly $7 billion before Goldman retreated.
However, Solomon recently engineered a massive rebound.
By ditching the consumer business and refocusing on Goldman’s traditional Wall Street golden geese such as dealmaking, trading, and wealth management, he pushed the bank’s stock to record highs.
The price of the Wall Street giant’s shares has quadrupled since Solomon took command in October 2018.
Waldron, 57, has served as president and COO since 2018 and has long been the heir apparent.
After Waldron engaged in serious talks to lead Apollo Global Management and Carlyle in recent years, Goldman moved aggressively to retain the master dealmaker with an extensive network of corporate and government relationships around the world.
To prevent an exit, the board awarded both Waldron and Solomon $80 million retention bonuses in January 2025 and added Waldron to the board of directors.
His impending promotion will trigger a high-stakes leadership shuffle. Finance Chief Denis Coleman has already begun absorbing Waldron’s operational duties. Coleman now oversees human resources and a major artificial intelligence initiative dubbed “OneGS 3.0” designed to boost internal productivity.
More critically, Waldron’s ascension opens the firm’s presidency. The board faces a delicate balancing act to fill the No. 2 role without losing star executives who miss out on the title.
Top contenders include Marc Nachmann, who spearheads the pivotal asset and wealth management division, alongside the co-heads of global banking and markets, Ashok Varadhan and Dan Dees.
Dees recently boosted his internal profile by securing Goldman the coveted lead role on the SpaceX initial public offering.
A Goldman Sachs spokesperson declined to comment.