Goldman Sachs names record list of managing directors

Goldman Sachs Group, the most profitable securities firm in Wall Street history, promoted a record number of employees to managing director, boosting their pay and status as investment banks recover from the financial crisis.

The 321 appointments, up from 272 last year and 259 in 2008, were detailed in an internal memo obtained by Bloomberg News. The announcement came a day after the New York-based company selected 110 people to become partners, a designation that means they share in a special pool of compensation.

Goldman Sachs Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein, 56, has presided over an expansion of the firm, with the total number of employees rising to 35,400 from about 24,000 when he took over in mid-2006. In promoting more employees this year, the company is rewarding people who stayed through the financial crisis, said Charles Peabody, an analyst at Portales Partners LLC.

Most Women Ever
Yesterday’s promotions include the largest group of women ever, making up 24 per cent of the new class, said Lucas van Praag, a spokesman in New York. Women make up 19 per cent of all managing directors, including the new class, he said. Van Praag said “over 10 per cent” of this year’s new partners are women and declined to give a more specific figure.

Goldman Sachs was sued in September by three former employees who alleged that they faced discrimination in pay and fewer opportunities for promotion than men. Goldman Sachs has said the suit is without merit.

While half of the new managing directors are based in the Americas, 28 percent are in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and 22 percent are in Asia, van Praag said. He said the figures represent a marginal increase in the number outside the Americas.

About 45 percent of the new partners are based in the Americas, with 29 percent in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and 26 percent in Asia.

“That, I think, is reflective of where their growth is going to be,” Peabody said of the hires outside the Americas.