Goldman Sachs promotes 109 to partner in largest class under CEO

Goldman Sachs promoted 109 people to partner on Thursday, its largest class under CEO David Solomon, Business Insider reported. Partner elevation follows years of impact and leadership and an intensive internal review known as “cross-ruffing.”

For HR teams, the 109-person class puts senior-selection mechanics in focus: assessing readiness, sponsoring successors, defining roles and preserving individual development while that cohort enters the same senior rank together. The six new partners interviewed by Business Insider described mentorship, feedback, employee investment, role transitions and delegation as recurring elements of their advancement.

What did the six accounts reveal?

Business Insider provided no division-by-division breakdown or selection criteria for the full class. Its interviews covered Asset & Wealth Management, The Core, Engineering and Global Banking & Markets, and documented routes into partnership through fundamental investing, corporate treasury, engineering, client work and operating leadership. Their examples emphasize ownership, client service, team development and learning through discomfort.

How did they hear the news?

• Sung Cho, Asset & Wealth Management: Cho was at his desk during what he called the year's most volatile trading session when Solomon's name appeared on his phone. The third floor stood and applauded. He called his wife, also a managing director, then his parents; his teenage daughters cared less.
• Cho's family and team: His parents' reaction moved him because they had immigrated, built a life in the country and enabled his opportunities. He and his investment team celebrated at Le District near Goldman headquarters. He credited their shared performance through demanding market cycles.
• Inna Swenson, The Core: Swenson nearly missed Solomon's call because her phone was on silent. She first told her boss and mentor, Carey Halio, then celebrated with her Corporate Treasury team. Her two teenage daughters made cards; she celebrated with parents, husband and daughters on Friday.
• Gowri Sekar, Engineering: Sekar played music in her office while waiting for the phone, then called her husband and parents. She hugged her team, saying, “We did it!” After 20 years at Goldman, dating from her internship, she listed mentors and colleagues and thanked each. She called the Diwali-weekend timing in India the best gift and planned family festivities.
• Mark Romanczuk, Global Banking & Markets: Waldron called Romanczuk, whose team saw the president's name on his phone. Romanczuk said several hundred colleagues applauded; he called his wife, Jennifer, first. They planned dinner at Gigino Trattoria in New York, where they celebrated each time they learned they were expecting each of their five children.
• Kristin Kramer, Global Banking & Markets: Kramer heard colleagues celebrate other calls before realizing her own phone was ringing. Her team waited at her desk. She spent the evening at the annual alumni reunion with former colleagues and friends; she started at Goldman in 2009 as an intern.
• Pavlos Syrimis, Global Banking & Markets: Syrimis waited nervously at his desk and called his wife first. Several London team members came to Paris to celebrate with him.

What challenges and advice shaped their work?

• Cho on drawdowns: A prolonged market drawdown tested his conviction and judgment. Early in his career, he fixated on underperforming holdings, defended deteriorating theses and let volatility cloud decisions. He now seeks contrarian views, reduces emotional noise and limits concentration risk to prevent permanent capital impairment.
• Cho on ownership: Influential mentor Lou D’Ambrosio, a senior partner, former chief executive and operator across several businesses, displays a framed “No Spectators Allowed” sign. Cho read it as a demand for radical ownership, constant curiosity and action, especially as AI separates active employees from passive observers.
• Swenson on ownership: Moving from supporting leaders to setting the agenda, owning outcomes and directing execution pushed her beyond her comfort zone, even when the role lacked a clear definition. Her rule: identify the work, bring people together and take ownership without waiting for permission.
• Swenson on perspective: Careers are long; she avoids becoming too high on highs or too low on lows. She returned to that advice during partner review.
• Sekar on scale: Sekar built followership through personal investment in her people. As her mandate reached enterprise initiatives, direct operational proximity became harder. Linking team goals to individual career trajectories helped her maintain engagement, connection and trust.
• Sekar on work and life: Sekar calls “You cannot control your situation, but you can control how you react” her best advice. She rejects generic pressure to plan for “good work-life balance,” favoring work-life integration, taking one day at a time and accommodating school projects, overnight production issues or self-care.
• Romanczuk on transition: He played professional baseball for four years before joining Goldman. Team orientation and competition transferred, but finance required a steep learning curve that colleagues helped him manage. His lesson: discomfort is part of growth, work remains a team game and coaching junior colleagues drives success.
• Romanczuk on the long game: Seventeen years after joining, he still follows his father's advice to work hard and play the long game. He prioritizes client relationships, his team and skill acquisition.
• Kramer on disruption: The pandemic disrupted Capital Introduction conferences planned for 2020, forcing an overnight redesign. Global leaders met daily for two months and formed regional working groups to create virtual conferences that preserved investor relationships. Even after in-person events returned, virtual formats remained a cornerstone.
• Kramer on feedback: One fellow partner told her to treat feedback as a gift and sift out its “gold nuggets,” even when she disagreed.
• Syrimis on leadership: Major macroeconomic moments, including the pandemic, taught him to communicate clearly and keep teams motivated. His former boss said leaders cannot scale through micromanagement; they must hire good people, then empower and trust them.

What should employers test next?

The accounts point to explicit role expectations, career conversations at scale, feedback that tolerates disagreement and managers who multiply others. For Goldman, the next test is practical: whether the 109-person class can turn the new partners’ habits of ownership, sponsorship, delegation and adaptability into durable performance across the firm.