David M. Solomon
David Michael Solomon (born c. 1962), known as DJ D-Sol, is an American investment banker and DJ. He is the chief executive officer (CEO) of Goldman Sachs, a position he has held since October 2018. He has also been chairman of the bank since January 2019.[2] Before assuming his role as CEO, Solomon was president and chief operating officer from January 2017 to September 2018, and was joint head of the investment banking division from July 2006 to December 2016. Solomon formally succeeded Lloyd Blankfein, the previous CEO, on October 1, 2018, and was named chairman after Blankfein's retirement.[3]
Solomon also recreationally creates electronic dance music (EDM).[nb 1][8] He has performed at nightclubs and music festivals around New York, Miami and The Bahamas.[9][10]
Early life and education
Solomon was born circa 1962 in Hartsdale, New York. His father, Alan Solomon, was an executive vice president of a small publishing company, and his mother, Sandra, worked as an audiology supervisor.[11] He grew up in Scarsdale, New York, where he attended Edgemont Junior-Senior High School and worked at a local Baskin-Robbins before working as a camp counselor in New Hampshire.[12][13]
Solomon attended Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and government.[14] While there, he played on the rugby team and was chairman of the college's Alpha Delta Phi chapter.[15]
Career
After graduating, he applied to Goldman Sachs for a two-year analyst position but was rejected,[16] leading him to apply to Irving Trust, which he has referred to as a "graduate school at [a] bank."[16]
After Irving Trust, he went to work for Drexel Burnham in 1986. At Drexel Burnham he first worked as a commercial paper salesman, but later transitioned to junk bonds. His exposure to high-yield debt prompted him to join Bear Stearns.[14] At Bear Stearns he was charged with leading the junk bonds division and selling higher-risk bonds.[17] On one occasion, he assisted a struggling movie theater company in Dallas, Texas, to raise money through a "complicated bond transaction."[18]
Goldman Sachs
He worked with a variety of Goldman Sachs managers during the late 1990s which inspired his move to the firm in 1999 to work with their leveraged finance team as a partner, aged 37.[19] His move from Bear Stearns was "shocking" to contemporaries who believed him to be on the "leadership track at Bear."[20] Starting in 2006, he was promoted to and spent the next 10 years leading Goldman's investment banking division.[20] In July 2007, he secured the initial public offering (IPO) of LuLulemon Athletica wearing a maroon blazer and sweatpants, a sampling of the company's clothing to "throw everyone off" in a suit-required meeting.[21] During his time as head, he implemented "year-end compensation roundtables" where he would pepper the executives with questions about their business practices in order to "weed out under-performers."[22] Upon his departure, he was credited with professionalizing the investment banking division and doubling profit margins from 11% to 22% with sales rising by 70%.[22][23] In April 2014, Sheldon Adelson, a client of his from Drexel Burnham, offered Solomon operational control over the Las Vegas Sands casinos.[24] Solomon declined the offer because Adelson "wasn’t willing to give up day-to-day control, and [he] didn’t want to be an understudy."[25] Despite Goldman Sachs not disclosing his total compensation packages, SEC and IRS filings indicate that Solomon was paid a base salary of US$1.85 million with an award of restricted stock worth about $10 million in January 2015.[26] After Gary Cohn resigned from Goldman to become the Chief Economic Advisor to Donald Trump, then President of the United States, Solomon was elevated to president and co-chief operating officer along with Harvey Schwartz in December 2016.[27][28] In a series of interviews in October 2017, Solomon detailed his advice for students and future employees at Goldman: know how to write and speak publicly, know accounting, and never lose sight of what you are passionate about.[29] Under Solomon's leadership, the bank has increased pay for programmers, loosened dress codes, modernized computer systems, instituted video interviews, and created a "real-time performance review" system for new employees.[30] Solomon received an $11.85 million compensation package in January 2017 and January 2018.[31][32] It was estimated that Solomon holds 224,030 (0.059%) shares of Goldman Sachs Group (GS) which was valued at $58 million in January 2018.[33] In March 2020, Solomon was granted some US$27.5 million in compensation. This was made up of his base pay, which was a $2 million salary, as well as a $7.65 million cash bonus. On top of that, he also was granted $17.85 million in long-term incentives.[34]
On March 12, 2018, Goldman announced that Schwartz, the company's co-chief operating officer and president, would be resigning, leaving Solomon as the second-in-command.[35] Hours after the announcement, media outlets–both domestic and international–informally designated Solomon as Lloyd Blankfein's sole heir apparent.[24][36][37] At a board meeting on February 21, 2018, Blankfein expressed an interest and preference for Solomon to succeed him.[38][39][40] Solomon has repeatedly advocated for a reformation of Goldman's company culture.[41] He expressed an interest in lowering the maximum hours worked during normal business days from somewhere near 90 hours a week, to somewhere near 70 to 75 hours a week, when not actively engaged in closing a deal.[42] Prior to assuming the company's presidency, he tracked the hours worked by his subordinates and frequently stepped in to send employees home.[42] Solomon took office as the chief executive officer (CEO) of the firm on October 1, 2018.[2]
In 2021, Goldman Sachs announced it would be slashing Solomon's 2020 pay by 36% for the bank's role in the 1MDB scandal, causing Goldman to pay nearly $3 billion in October 2020 to government officials in four countries to close an investigation into the work the bank performed for 1MDB. Solomon received a $27.5 million compensation package in 2019 and was given a $17.5 million package for 2020.[43][44]
Solomon spoke at the November 2022 Global Financial Leaders' Investment Summit, with the Hong Kong Democracy Council claiming that his presence, along with other financial executives, legitimized the Hong Kong government's whitewashing of the erosion of freedoms in the city.[45] Several members of Congress also warned that US financial executives should not attend the Summit, saying "Their presence only serves to legitimise the swift dismantling of Hong Kong's autonomy, free press and the rule of law by Hong Kong authorities acting along with the Chinese Communist Party."[46]
Music
Solomon performs regularly as a disc jockey under the name "DJ D-Sol,"[8] producing a variety of electronic dance music (EDM).[47][48] He has performed at nightclubs and music festivals around New York, Miami and the Bahamas.[9] Solomon maintains the Instagram account "@davidsolomonmusic" to catalogue his projects as a music producer.[36] In June 2018, he released a cover of the Fleetwood Mac song, "Don't Stop."[49] The song was originally played on Sirius XM's BPM: Electronic Dance Music Hits the previous January.[50] "Don't Stop" was listed in Spotify's 263,361-follower playlist "Happy Summer Beats."[51] His Spotify profile has 550,000 monthly listeners, with his debut single garnering 8 million listens.[52] Shortly after his debut release, Solomon opened a SoundCloud account where he posts extended musical sets and concert performances.[53] His most recent release, "Someone Like You" peaked at #4 on the Billboard Dance Club Chart in November 2020.
Payback Records
Solomon founded Payback Records in December 2018 in partnership with Big Beat/Atlantic Records. All proceeds from the label are directed towards charitable causes relating to addiction, hunger relief and fighting COVID-19. Solomon releases all of his original music through Payback Records.[54][55]
Payback released the single "Break This Habit" featuring Kiko Bun by house DJ Oliver Heldens, in partnership with Heldeep Records.[56]
Discography
Title | Year released | Song details |
---|---|---|
"Don't Stop" | 2018 |
|
"Feel Alive" | 2019 |
|
"Rescue Me" (feat. Alex Newell) | 2019 |
|
Dzeko & DJ D-Sol - "Down on It" (feat. Kool & the Gang) | 2019 |
|
"Electric" (feat. Hayley May) | 2020 |
|
"Someone Like You" (feat. Gia Koka) | 2020 |
|
"Only a Fool" (DJ D-Sol Remix) | 2020 |
|
"Learn to Love Me" (ft. Ryan Tedder) | 2021 |
|
"Dreaming" (feat. SMBDY) [VIPMix] | 2021 |
|
Jennifer Lopez - "On My Way" (David Solomon Remix) | 2022 |
|
Whitney Houston - "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)" (David Solomon Remix) | 2022 |
|
"Heatwave" (feat. RobbieJay) | 2022 |
|
"Cross Your Mind" | 2022 |
|
Chart positions
Title | Peak chart positions | ||
---|---|---|---|
Billboard Dance/Mix Show Airplay | Billboard Dance Club Songs | Billboard Hot Dance/Electronica | |
"Don't Stop" | 39 | - | - |
"Feel Alive" | 4[57] | - | - |
"Rescue Me" | - | 4 | 37 |
"Someone Like You" | 4 | - | - |
Performances
Solomon has performed at many events including the Electronic Music Awards in Los Angeles in 2017 and a 2020 Sports Illustrated Super Bowl Event in Miami along with Marshmello and Black Eyed Peas.[58][59] On April 9, 2018, he performed a remix of "The Pink Panther Theme" at a charity event for the opioid epidemic hosted by Hamilton College.[60] He has shared the stage with many notable DJs including Paul Oakenfold and Galantis.[61] In 2020, he appeared as himself in a cameo on the Showtime series Billions.[62]
In May 2022, Solomon performed at the silent disco of Bottle Rock in Napa, CA.[63] In July of the same year, Solomon took the stage at the Lollapalooza music festival. All proceeds from his appearances were donated to charity.[64]
Safe & Sound charity concert
On July 25, 2020, Solomon was the opening act for the Chainsmokers at a charity concert, called "Safe & Sound" that was meant to be a future example of COVID-19 pandemic audience safety. The event was investigated by the state of New York health authorities for "rampant" violations of social distancing guidelines. A Goldman Sachs spokesperson said Solomon left before the show ended.[65]
Personal life
Solomon is Jewish.[66] He married Mary Elizabeth Solomon (née Coffey) in 1989 when they were both 27 years old in Bernardsville, New Jersey.[11] They divorced in early 2018.[1] He has resided in The San Remo on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City from 2002 onward.[67] He listed the apartment for $24 million in May 2016.[67] He purchased a 13,000-square-foot estate in Aspen, Colorado in 2004 for $4 million and listed it for $36 million in July 2016.[68]
In January 2018, Solomon discovered that a personal assistant had stolen around 500 bottles from his rare wine collection, among them seven from the French estate Domaine de la Romanee-Conti.[69] The personal assistant, Nicolas DeMeyer, was arrested in late January and indicted for the theft of $1.2 million worth of wine.[69][70] On October 9, 2018 Nicolas DeMeyer committed suicide by leaping to his death from the 33rd floor window of the Carlyle Hotel, minutes after he was scheduled to appear before a Manhattan judge in relation to the alleged wine theft.[71]
Solomon has served on Hamilton College's board of trustees since 2005. He was elected as chairman of the board starting July 1, 2021.[72] He is on the board of directors of the Robin Hood Foundation, a charitable organization which attempts to alleviate problems caused by poverty in New York City.[73]
See also
Explanatory notes
- ^ His stage name abbreviates disc jockey without the periods (i.e. 'DJ' as opposed to 'D.J.').[4] When he releases records or remixes songs he is simply credited as D-Sol.[5] His stage name is a portmanteau of his first name and surname.[6][7]
References
- ^ a b "This charming fraudster bilked the CEO of Goldman Sachs — then killed himself". nypost.com. 13 October 2018. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
- ^ a b Segarra, Lisa (October 1, 2018). "New Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon Has a Big Goal: Hire More Women". Fortune. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
- ^ "Goldman Sachs Ushers In New Era as Solomon Takes CEO Reins". www.bloomberg.com. July 20, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
- ^ "Goldman Sachs to name DJ D-Sol as next CEO". The FADER. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- ^ Umoh, Ruth (March 14, 2017). "Goldman Sachs' president has gigs as a DJ around the world". CNBC. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- ^ Kelly, Kate (March 12, 2017). "The Next Goldman Chief Could Be a Banker Who Moonlights as a D.J." The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- ^ Kelly, Kate (June 13, 2017). "At Goldman, He's David Solomon. At the Club, He's D.J. D-Sol". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- ^ a b "David Solomon Drops Sultry New Club Track "Cross Your Mind"". Your EDM. 2021-02-12. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
- ^ a b Kelly, Kate (14 July 2017). "At Goldman, He's David Solomon. At the Club, He's D.J. D-Sol". The New York Times. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
- ^ Siegel, Rachel (November 15, 2018). "Meet DJ D-Sol: the electronic music artist who might soon lead Goldman Sachs". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- ^ a b "Mary E. Coffey Becomes Bride". The New York Times. 13 August 1989. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- ^ Kelly, Kate (November 22, 2012). "Inside the Race for the Top Job on Wall Street". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- ^ Hoffman, Liz (November 1, 2018). "The Gamble That Put David Solomon on Top at Goldman Sachs". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- ^ a b "David M. Solomon". Milken Institute. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
- ^ Hoffman, Liz (November 15, 2018). "The Gamble That Put David Solomon on Top at Goldman Sachs". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
- ^ a b Cohan, William D. (October 5, 2018). ""You Can't Out-Lloyd Lloyd": At Goldman Sachs, the David Solomon Era Begins with Subtle but Significant Changes". The Hive. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
After majoring in political science at Hamilton College, Solomon was rejected by Goldman for a two-year analyst position.
- ^ Kelly, Kate (November 22, 2011). "Inside the Race for the Top Job on Wall Street". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- ^ Kelly, Kate (December 10, 2017). "Inside the Race for the Top Job on Wall Street". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- ^ Kelly, Kate (November 12, 2017). "The Next Goldman Chief Could Be a Banker Who Moonlights as a D.J." The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- ^ a b Kelly, Kate (November 22, 2017). "Inside the Race for the Top Job on Wall Street". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- ^ Kelly, Kate (November 3, 2017). "Inside the Race for the Top Job on Wall Street". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- ^ a b Hoffman, Liz (November 15, 2017). "The Gamble That Put David Solomon on Top at Goldman Sachs". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- ^ Meyersohn, Nathaniel. "Goldman Sachs' next CEO is a part-time electronic dance DJ". CNNMoney. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- ^ a b Hoffman, Liz (March 15, 2018). "The Gamble That Put David Solomon on Top at Goldman Sachs". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- ^ Hoffman, Liz (May 15, 2017). "The Gamble That Put David Solomon on Top at Goldman Sachs". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- ^ "A Goldman Sachs Executive Was Robbed of $1.2 Million Worth of Wine". Fortune. March 15, 2018. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- ^ Gray, Alistair; McLannahan, Ben; Noonan, Laura (December 14, 2016). "Goldman Sachs shake-up elevates Solomon and Schwartz". Financial Times. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
- ^ Hoffman, Liz (December 14, 2016). "Goldman Sachs Names David Solomon, Harvey Schwartz to Succeed Gary Cohn". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
- ^ "3 Tips for Students from D.J. D-Sol (a.k.a. Goldman Sachs Co-COO David Solomon)". Vault. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- ^ "Goldman Sachs Loves Millennials and Engineers". Bloomberg.com. October 24, 2017. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- ^ "Goldman says newly promoted COOs and CFO to get same base salary". Reuters. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- ^ "Form 8-K". www.sec.gov. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- ^ 4-traders. "David Michael Solomon - Biography". www.4-traders.com. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Goldman CEO Bucks Wall Street Trend With 20% Pay Bump for 2019". Bloomberg.com. 2020-03-20. Retrieved 2020-03-21.
- ^ "Wall Street's Succession Moment Marks End of the Lloyd & Jamie Show". Bloomberg.com. 2018-03-15. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- ^ a b Siegel, Rachel (March 15, 2018). "Meet DJ D-Sol: the electronic music artist who might soon lead Goldman Sachs". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- ^ "Goldman Says It Aims to Eventually Have a 50% Female Workforce". Bloomberg.com. March 15, 2018. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- ^ Kelly, Kate (March 12, 2018). "The Next Goldman Chief Could Be a Banker Who Moonlights as a D.J." The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- ^ Kelly, Kate (November 22, 2018). "Inside the Race for the Top Job on Wall Street". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- ^ "Goldman's Solomon sets out to prove bank's revenue engine can roar..." Reuters. March 10, 2017. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- ^ Campbell, Dakin (March 10, 2018). "What David Solomon's ascent at Goldman Sachs signals about its future". Business Standard India. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- ^ a b Cohan, William D. "The Next Goldman C.E.O. Is One Woke Dude". The Hive. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- ^ Hope, Dave Michaels, Liz Hoffman and Bradley (2020-10-20). "Goldman Sachs to Pay $2.8 Billion, Admit Wrongdoing to Settle 1MDB Charges". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Rudegeair, Peter (2021-01-27). "Goldman CEO David Solomon Takes $10 Million Pay Cut for 1MDB Scandal". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
- ^ "Business Not As Usual | HKDC". HKDC. Retrieved 2022-10-26.
- ^ "Hong Kong's finance chief, hit by Covid, aims to attend banking summit in person". South China Morning Post. 2022-10-28. Retrieved 2022-10-28.
- ^ Siegel, Rachel (March 15, 2017). "Meet DJ D-Sol: the electronic music artist who might soon lead Goldman Sachs". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- ^ nowthisnews (July 20, 2018). "Goldman Sachs' New CEO is Also a DJ". NowThis. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
Goldman Sachs just named an EDM DJ as its new CEO. David Solomon, also commonly known as DJ D-Sol, is the veteran banker and part-time EDM DJ who will be the firm’s next CEO.
- ^ Umoh, Ruth (March 14, 2018). "Goldman Sachs' president has gigs as a DJ around the world". CNBC. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- ^ "The Likely Next CEO of Goldman Sachs Moonlights as a DJ". Town & Country. 2018-03-12. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- ^ Hall, Parker (April 15, 2018). "Jam out in style with the 25 best playlists on Spotify". Digital Trends. Retrieved June 12, 2018.
- ^ Rushe, Dominic (July 21, 2018). "Goldman Sachs: David Solomon, veteran banker and part-time DJ, named new boss". the Guardian. Archived from the original on 2018-07-17. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
His biography on Spotify, where he has 550,509 monthly listeners, reads:"His personal mantra is to never lose sight of what you are passionate about."
- ^ "Soundcloud: D-Sol". SoundCloud. June 1, 2018. Retrieved June 12, 2018.
- ^ Son, Hugh (September 20, 2019). "Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon has a music label called Payback Records". CNBC.
- ^ Bort, Ryan (February 1, 2019). "There's Nothing Subprime About These EDM Bangers From the CEO of Goldman Sachs". Rolling Stone.
- ^ "Oliver Heldens taps Kiko Bun for spicy new house number, 'Break This Habit'". Dancing Astronaut. September 3, 2020.
- ^ "Billboard Dance Chart Upstarts: D-Sol, aka Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, Surges With First Original Release". Billboard. 21 February 2019.
- ^ "Goldman's DJ D-Sol—the CEO—to Spin at Super Bowl Party". Bloomberg.com. January 21, 2020 – via www.bloomberg.com.
- ^ Siegel, Rachel. "Meet DJ D-Sol: the electronic music artist who might soon lead Goldman Sachs" – via www.washingtonpost.com.
- ^ Ablan, Jennifer. "Goldman CEO's deputy can't stop, won't stop spinning records". U.K. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
- ^ Masood, Saad. "Goldman Sachs CEO and EDM DJ: D-Sol On Beats 1 One Mix". EDM.com - The Latest Electronic Dance Music News, Reviews & Artists.
- ^ "Goldman CEO David Solomon Lands Cameo on Showtime Series 'Billions'". Bloomberg.com. April 24, 2020 – via www.bloomberg.com.
- ^ "Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon DJS at BottleRock Napa Valley". 30 May 2022.
- ^ Grant, Charley (2022-03-23). "Electronic Music Hobby Leads Goldman Sachs CEO to Lollapalooza". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
- ^ de la Merced, Michael J. (2020-07-28). "Goldman Sachs C.E.O. played an ill-fated DJ gig in the Hamptons". The New York Times. Retrieved 2020-07-28.
- ^ "Goldman Sachs names David Solomon as new CEO as it targets Main Street growth". The Times of Israel.
- ^ a b Solomont, E.B. (May 3, 2016). "Goldman's David Solomon wants $24M for his San Remo pad". The Real Deal. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
- ^ Block, Fang. "Goldman Sachs President Lists Aspen Home for $36M". Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- ^ a b "A Goldman Sachs Executive Was Robbed of $1.2 Million Worth of Wine". Fortune. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- ^ "Assistant Goldman Sachs Exec Stole $1.2M Of French Wine From His Boss' Cellar". The Forward. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- ^ Schuster, Dana (October 13, 2018). "This charming fraudster bilked the CEO of Goldman Sachs — then killed himself".
- ^ "Board of Trustees". Hamilton College. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
- ^ "Board of Directors". Robin Hood Foundation. 9 October 2016. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
Further reading
- Wieczner, Jen (August 14–27, 2023). "Is David Solomon Too Big a Jerk To Run Goldman Sachs?". New York: 32–39.
Profit excuses a lot on Wall Street. But not everything. Inside a banking mutiny.
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Preceded by | Chairman of Goldman Sachs 2018–present | Incumbent |
CEO of Goldman Sachs 2018–present |
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