When Kim Posnett was named head of global technology, media and telecom at Goldman Sachs in May 2023, it was the culmination of a career focused on the intersection of technology and investment banking.
Since her appointment, Posnett has sought to quell geopolitical concerns among clients, while focusing internally on the promise of generative artificial intelligence.
Tech, media and telecom is, along with commercial real estate, Goldman's largest service industry as determined by measurements like loans or equities security volume.
"Our clients are becoming more global, more complex and operating in more complicated environments, so they want a more holistic advisory approach from us," Posnett said. "For example, they want our traditional banking services, but also our perspectives on macroeconomics and geopolitical dynamics."
Content-creating AI may boost the global economy. Posnett described herself as one of the firm's senior leaders championing AI, including through conversations with the Goldman Sachs Global Institute and the company's engineering department.
"The way I think about AI from an operating perspective is that there are thousands of things you can do, but our key strategic imperative is to identify and focus on the highest-impact applications and use cases," she said.
Goldman Sachs said in June that thousands of company developers are starting to use generative AI for coding. Other applications are in a preliminary stage, including translating documents into different languages.
Posnett climbed the ranks of Goldman through her positions as co-head of internet investment banking and co-chief operating officer of the tech, media and telecom group. Before her current role, she led global investment banking services. She also served as co-head for One Goldman Sachs, a post-pandemic initiative to have the firm's 45,300 employees better collaborate and communicate.
Posnett has sought out tech leaders, among other mentors, to give her advice and inspiration. She also practices reverse mentoring, where she gains perspective from more junior Goldman employees, including the technology they prefer to use in their daily lives.
Posnett is also a member of the partnership committee, where she is prioritizing women's retention by nourishing talent and encouraging the expansion of networking opportunities inside and outside the firm. While Goldman CEO David Solomon recently admitted that the company has failed to place women in its most senior ranks, the ranks of women partners is at its highest ever.
Outside of Goldman, Posnett, the mother of three children, serves on the board of Every Mother Counts, a nonprofit focused on safe maternal and postpartum health care. She helped fundraise for the organization's podcast, a five-episode miniseries that premiered on the week of Mother's Day, where celebrities including Amy Schumer and Spike Lee came on to advocate for maternal health.
