Photo credit: Goldman Sachs
David Solomon may occupy the tippy top of Goldman Sachs, but John Waldron is just behind him. As the bank’s president and COO, Waldron operates at the center of Goldman Sachs’s global influence. That means he’s shaping how capital flows through markets, companies, and entire economies. He’s the architect behind the firm’s day-to-day engine—overseeing investment banking, markets, and a rapidly expanding asset-and wealth-management business that collectively steer trillions of dollars.
He’s become such a notable force in finance over the past years because he’s leading Goldman’s role as a strategic advisor during a period of high rates, geopolitical tension, and ridiculously rapid technological change. Waldron is the person CEOs and even governments call when they’re navigating big moves, from corporate mergers and restructurings to how countries should respond to sudden market shocks.
All that influence cements Waldron as not just an executive mover and shaker, but also a regular presence in high-level economic discussions with U.S. and international policymakers.
