Goldman hires senior Google executive for new innovation group

Goldman Sachs has hired a senior Google executive to co-head a newly created innovation group, the latest example of the Wall Street bank mining talent from a tech giant.

In a memo sent to Goldman staff on Tuesday, which was seen by the Financial Times, chief executive David Solomon said Jared Cohen would run the bank’s Office of Applied Innovation alongside George Lee, co-chief information officer and a longtime Goldman partner.

“Working closely with leaders across Goldman Sachs, George and Jared will specifically identify and advance commercial opportunities for the firm that are at the intersection of a changing global marketplace, shifts in the geopolitical landscape and rapidly evolving technology,” Solomon wrote in the memo, the contents of which were confirmed by Goldman.

Cohen will also join as Goldman’s president of global affairs. Lee will continue as co-CIO until October when Marco Argenti will become sole CIO. Cohen and Lee will both report to Solomon.

Cohen was founder and chief executive of Jigsaw, a research and development unit at Google’s parent Alphabet. He was previously a member of the US secretary of state’s policy planning staff under Condoleezza Rice and Hillary Clinton.

He is the latest senior executive to join Goldman from the tech world. Goldman last year hired Peeyush Nahar from Uber to lead its consumer banking business. Argenti joined Goldman from Amazon in 2019.

For years, Goldman has been trying to bolster its tech expertise. In 2014, Lloyd Blankfein, Solomon’s predecessor as chief executive, declared that Goldman was “a technology firm”. 

The most visible example of Goldman’s tech ambitions is its consumer business Marcus, a digital-only savings and lending platform that Goldman launched in 2016.