Goldman Sachs’ Institutional Shareholder Services Advise to Separate CEO and Chairman Roles for Better Governance Amidst Scrutiny of Consumer Business and Personnel Issues

Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) has advised investors to separate the roles of CEO and chairman at Goldman Sachs for better governance. The annual meeting vote on this proposal comes amidst scrutiny of Goldman’s consumer business and personnel issues. ISS, a company that advises investors on voting at shareholder meetings, gave “cautionary support” for Goldman’s executive pay.

David Solomon has been the CEO since October 2018 and added the chairman title shortly after. Despite his success as CEO with the stock soaring 83%, recent issues have brought increased attention to his leadership. Concerns were raised after a Wall Street Journal article reported a lack of female leadership at Goldman, with many women leaving under Solomon’s leadership. One of these women, Stephanie Cohen, led the bank’s consumer business that ultimately resulted in significant losses and the bank’s decision to pull back from that sector.

ISS’s report suggested that Solomon’s missteps in the consumer space have led to further human capital issues within the company. However, Goldman’s governance committee reaffirmed that the dual CEO-chairman role is the most effective leadership structure following an evaluation in December. ISS is recommending that investors vote for Goldman’s slate of directors, including the next lead independent director, David Viniar, who has been on the board since 2013. Some may question the decision to appoint a former Goldman executive to this role at this time, according to ISS. Goldman Sachs did not provide a comment on this matter.