The Remixed Version of Wall Street

Published in L'Echo
(Belgium) on 29 January 2020
by Marc Lambrechts (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Hal Swindall. Edited by Elizabeth Cosgriff.
A new strategy for Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs boss David Solomon is a DJ in his spare time. In 2018, he produced a remixed version of the Fleetwood Mac song "Don't Stop." Really, this American banker is unstoppable himself, working tirelessly to transform the company that has been disparaged as the "leech," a symbol of the excesses of the finance industry in the early 2000s.

Solomon is thus the remixed version of Wall Street in contrast to the old one personified by former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein, who arrogantly declared that he was "doing God's work." That was all he claimed for himself.

Along with other CEOs of major firms, last summer Solomon signed the declaration by the employers’ organization Business Roundtable that overturned traditional American capitalism by stating that it is no longer the main object of business to maximize profits for shareholders. These must henceforth be put on the same footing with other "stakeholders." In short, business must also concern itself with the environment, its clients and workers, etc. This is altogether in the spirit of the times.

Goldman Sachs' corporate culture is thus changing, but sometimes in a mostly cosmetic way. For example, there is the subtle policy of declining to manage the initial public offerings of companies whose boards do not include a woman. Strangely, this quest for diversity is only applied to America and Europe, not Asia.

Above all, Goldman Sachs is trying to diversify from its dependence on trading and speculation. It also seeks to appear less secretive; for example, holding its very first "investor day" last Wednesday in New York. The event was highly welcomed.

So, is greed dead? Let's not jump to conclusions. Recently, The Wall Street Journal let it be known that the current management team's objective is to double Goldman Sachs’ share prices, which are falling. Solomon might need to polish his remix.


Nouvelle stratégie pour Goldman Sachs

David Solomon, le patron de Goldman Sachs, est DJ à ses heures perdues. En 2018, il a sorti une version remixée de "Don’t Stop" du groupe Fleetwood Mac. Et effectivement, le banquier américain est inarrêtable. Inlassablement, il veut transformer celle qu’on a appelée de manière très péjorative la "pieuvre", symbole des excès de la finance dans les années 2000.

David Solomon, c’est Wall Street en version remix. Le nouveau Wall Street contre le vieux Wall Street, personnalisé par Lloyd Blankfein, l’ancien CEO de Goldman, qui de manière arrogante déclarait "accomplir le travail de Dieu". Rien que cela…

Chez Goldman Sachs, la culture d’entreprise est en train de changer. Mais parfois d’une manière plutôt cosmétique.

Comme d’autres grands CEO, Solomon a signé l’été dernier la déclaration de l’organisation patronale Business Roundtable qui a bousculé le capitalisme américain: le but d’une entreprise n’est plus de maximiser le seul profit au bénéfice des actionnaires. Ces derniers doivent être mis sur le même pied que les autres "stakeholders". Bref, il s’agit de se préoccuper aussi de l’environnement, des clients, des travailleurs… C’est tout à fait dans l’air du temps.

Chez Goldman Sachs, la culture d’entreprise est en train de changer. Parfois d’une manière plutôt cosmétique. Cela va d’un code vestimentaire plus souple au refus de la firme de diriger des introductions en bourse (IPO) de sociétés dont le comité ne comprend aucune femme. Bizarrement, cette quête de diversité ne vaut toutefois que pour les Etats-Unis et l’Europe, pas pour l’Asie.

Surtout, Goldman Sachs veut se diversifier pour ne plus dépendre des seules activités de trading et de spéculation. Et aussi apparaître moins secrète, d’où ce tout premier "investor day" organisé mercredi à New York. On applaudit.

Alors, "greed is dead"? N’allons pas trop vite. Récemment, le Wall Street Journal laissait entendre que l’objectif de l’équipe dirigeante était surtout de doubler la valeur de l’action Goldman Sachs, qui reste à la traîne. David Solomon doit peut-être encore soigner son remix…

This post appeared on the front page as a direct link to the original article with the above link .

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