Goldman Sachs Group plans to add Tom Montag to its board, enlisting a prominent alum at a time when discontent in the firm's ranks has spilled into public view.
The board, gathering in India, is tapping a Goldman Sachs veteran who is seen as an ally of CEO David Solomon, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Montag rose to second-in-command at Bank of America after leaving Goldman 15 years ago.
While it's routine for boards to make periodic changes, appointing someone who once worked closely with Solomon at Goldman would likely signal that the CEO — who also serves as chairman — is shoring up support. Some executives say it could help quash any speculation on his immediate future as Solomon approaches five years running the firm.
The people with knowledge of the move asked not to be named discussing the private deliberations. A spokesperson for New York-based Goldman declined to comment. Montag, 66, who stepped down from Bank of America at the end of 2021, didn't respond to messages seeking comment.
Frustrations inside Goldman have become increasingly public. They escalated through the pandemic even as the company minted record profits, and intensified in recent months during a slowdown in its core business lines.
A years-long push by Solomon to rapidly step up the firm's expansion into consumer banking gave way to missed deadlines and blown financial targets for the unit. By the time Goldman reversed course in late 2022 and unwound the effort, billions of dollars in losses were weighing on bonuses in other divisions. Despite the CEO publicly admitting the mistake, some executives, including Goldman's elite partners, have privately sought more accountability.
In tapping Montag, the board is enlisting someone with the perspective of a longtime Wall Streeter who's also familiar with the firm's distinctive partnership culture. During his more-than two decades at Goldman, he snagged the partner rank years before the company went public in 1999.
He would be the first banker to be named to the board under Solomon, following appointments of executives from Comcast, Starbucks and Shell, as well as a retired U.S. Navy officer. Goldman currently has 12 directors, down from the 14 it had before Drew Faust and Mark Winkelman retired from the board in April.
Montag's decision to leave behind his career at Goldman and jump to the top echelons of a major competitor remains a relatively rare occurrence in the industry. He made the move a year after Goldman's then-CEO, Lloyd Blankfein, tapped two younger executives, Gary Cohn and Jon Winkelried, to be his deputies as co-presidents.
In his last post, Montag helped run the trading group, while Solomon held a similar perch over investment banking.
Montag landed at Merrill Lynch in 2008, shortly before the firm's emergency takeover by Bank of America. While running the combined company's investment bank, he largely eschewed Goldman's annual gathering of former partners, an occasion used by many to reminisce and foster new commercial relations.
When he reappeared at one of those soirees soon after Solomon took the helm, the moment became a topic of scuttlebutt within the firm.
Montag held a tight grip on Bank of America's Wall Street operations for more than a decade with a management style that sometimes drew grumbling of its own. As the pandemic ground on in his final years there, he and Solomon both emerged among a number of prominent Wall Street figures who encouraged reluctant staff to resume commutes, breaking with rivals touting flexibility.
A New York Times article several months before Montag stepped down in 2021 cast a harsh spotlight on the work environment in some of his divisions. Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan later pushed back, saying there was no cultural problem at the firm.
Last year, Montag returned to Wall Street with the start of a carbon-credit venture backed by TPG. He was named CEO of the new company, Rubicon Carbon, a business aimed at the market for emissions offsets.
