Goldman Sachs Faces Senior Exits Amid Leadership Changes
By Global Leaders Insights Team | Oct 13, 2025
According to reports, Goldman Sachs has lost more than a dozen senior investment bankers this year, a higher number than usual, due to internal shakeups and a slow start to 2025, which prompted them to seek new opportunities.
Key Highlights
- Over a dozen senior Goldman Sachs investment bankers have exited amid leadership reshuffles and a dealmaking slowdown.
- Departures driven by promotion concerns and low bonuses, as Goldman introduces co-heads and cuts headcount.
Some bankers left because they expected to be passed over for promotions this year, including into Goldman's elite partner class, while others left because they expected pitiful bonuses after dealmaking stalled in the first half.
Despite the departures, Goldman continues to lead Wall Street's mergers and acquisitions league tables, and its fee volumes have risen to levels last seen in 2021. According to Dealogic data, its overall investment banking net revenue in the first nine months of the year increased to its highest level since 2021.
Some bankers who left this year joined rivals such as JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup, while others joined boutiques such as Evercore.
"We always strive to run our business in the best interests of our customers and shareholders," a bank spokesperson said in a statement. "Goldman Sachs succeeds because of our exceptional teams and strength of our franchise."
This year, the bank plans to elevate new partners. In 2024, 95 new partners were appointed, 26 of whom were women.
It advised Electronic Arts on its $55 billion sale to a consortium of private equity firms and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund earlier this year, as well as Holcim on the spinoff of its North American business Amrize, which is now worth $26 billion.
"There have been fewer deals overall, but larger in size, requiring less headcount," said Stephen Biggar, Argus Research's banking analyst.
Megadeals across the industry increased to $1.26 trillion in global mergers and acquisitions during the third quarter, up 40% year on year, according to Dealogic data. However, 8,912 deals were signed, a 16% decrease from the previous year, marking the lowest third-quarter deal volume in 20 years, according to the data.
The surge in investment banking has also boosted Goldman's stock, which is up nearly 38% this year, outperforming the S&P Financial index's 11% rise.
Also Read: Apple Reshuffles Leadership Ahead of COO Jeff Williams Retirement
LEADERSHIP CHANGES
Goldman made significant leadership changes this year, appointing co-heads in all of its major divisions and adding six new members to the management committee. The firm also established a new financing division.
The Wall Street behemoth also pushed annual staffing cuts to the second quarter of this year rather than September. The exercise typically aims to reduce headcount by 3% to 5%, depending on performance. According to a company filing, headcount decreased by 2% to 45,900 in the second quarter compared to the first.
"The expectation for a bigger M&A environment has been in place for some time," said Macrae Sykes, portfolio manager at Gabelli Funds. "As a result, I believe Goldman Sachs is well-positioned to capitalize on the tailwinds, given its franchise and broad-based banking capabilities. Headcount may fluctuate, but not, in my opinion, the productivity of the firm's banking culture."
