By Lananh Nguyen and Niket Nishant
(Reuters) -Jim Esposito, co-head of Goldman Sachs' global banking and markets division, plans to retire after almost three decades at the bank, the latest executive to leave the Wall Street giant in recent months.
Esposito, who jointly runs Goldman's powerhouse trading and investment banking unit alongside Dan Dees and Ashok Varadhan, will leave around the end of the quarter and become a senior director. Esposito has also served as the co-chair of Goldman's partnership committee since 2021.
"I leave with zero regrets," Esposito told Reuters in an interview on Monday. "I've accomplished everything I set out to do at Goldman Sachs, so now is the time to find new challenges and adventures" that are different from his previous role, he said.
Esposito, 56, cited his work unifying the banking and trading businesses, helping Goldman maintain its lead in mergers and acquisitions rankings for two decades, and regaining its top spot in equities as his biggest achievements at the bank.
The Wall Street behemoth merged its banking and trading division in 2022 in a shakeup that eventually shifted its focus back to the traditional mainstays and away from an ill-fated foray into consumer banking.
Other high-profile leaders have also departed from Goldman in recent months. Asset management executive Julian Salisbury joined investment firm Sixth Street, and Dina Powell McCormick (NYSE:MKC), the former head of Goldman's sovereign business, left for merchant bank BDT & MSD Partners.
Goldman's fourth-quarter profit beat estimates as its equity traders capitalized on a market recovery and revenue from asset and wealth management rose. The results offset several quarters marred by writedowns from the retail business and critical comments in news reports about Solomon's leadership.
Goldman's board has backed Solomon as he moved to concentrate on core businesses, according to analysts and sources familiar with the situation.
In a career spanning fixed income, equities and investment banking, Esposito "helped our businesses navigate extraordinary change in our industry, including structural developments driven by technology and regulation," CEO David Solomon wrote in a memo announcing the departure seen by Reuters.
Esposito joined Goldman in 1995 as a salesperson for emerging markets debt, according to his company biography. He was promoted to managing director in 2002 and became a partner four years later.
"I thrived given the variety of experiences on offer but ultimately you reach a point where opportunities for change become more limited," Esposito wrote in a message to colleagues seen by Reuters, noting that he didn't have formal plans for a next move.
His departure was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.