Jagadesh/ReutersEdward Forst in 2005.

Edward C. Forst, co-head of asset management at Goldman Sachs, is retiring from the Wall Street firm, according to an internal memo sent to employees on Friday.

Mr. Forst, who turns 51 this month, is the highest-ranking executive to leave the firm in recent months. He has been a member of the firm’s influential management committee.

Eric S. Lane will take over from Mr. Forst and will help run the division with Tim O’Neill, the other current co-head.

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Mr. Forst has deep roots at Goldman. He joined the firm in 1994 and ran a number of key divisions including capital markets. In 2008, he left Goldman to become an executive vice president at Harvard University, helping on finance, human resources and capital planning. About a year later, however, in a move that surprised many on Wall Street, Goldman hired him back as a senior strategy officer. Mr. Forst took over asset management in 2010, replacing Marc A. Spilker, who left the firm.

While Goldman has not had much turnover in its upper ranks of late, an unusually high number of senior people have left in recent months as the firm presses cut costs in the face of weakening revenue. It is not known whether Mr. Forst’s departure was related to this effort.

Copies of the memos are below:

December 2, 2011
We are pleased to announce that Eric S. Lane has been named co-head of the Investment Management Division. Eric, together with Tim O’Neill who has been co-head of IMD since 2008, will lead our efforts to grow our combined asset management and private wealth platform, which continues to represent one of the firm’s most important businesses and growth opportunities.

Eric has served as chief operating officer of IMD since 2009. In that role, he had oversight for the Private Wealth Management, Alternative Investments, Capital Markets and Goldman Sachs Asset Management Distribution businesses. He is co-chair of the Firmwide Suitability Committee and a member of the Growth Markets Operating Committee, and the IMD and Merchant Banking Division Client and Business Standards Committees.

Eric joined Goldman Sachs in 1996 and, since 1999, has held a variety of senior positions across a number of different businesses in the Investment Management Division. He was named managing director in 2001 and partner in 2002.

As a long-tenured leader in IMD, Eric has demonstrated dedication to our clients and a deep understanding of markets. His extensive experience in the division positions him well to lead IMD with Tim.

Please join us in congratulating Eric and wishing him continued success in his new role.

Lloyd C. Blankfein
Gary D. Cohn
December 2, 2011

After 16 years of service, Edward C. Forst, global co-head of the Investment Management Division, has decided to retire from the firm effective at the end of the year.

Ed joined Goldman Sachs in 1994 in Capital Markets of which he subsequently became co-head. He served as chief of staff to both the Equities and FICC divisions and also served as the co-head of the Global Credit business in FICC. In 2004, Ed was appointed the firm’s chief administrative officer and became a member of the Management Committee. He played an important role in developing our global headquarters in New York. He was appointed co-head of the Investment Management Division in 2007.

Ed left the firm in 2008 to become the first executive vice president of Harvard University. In that role, Ed was the University’s senior operating officer, a senior advisor to the president and a member of the board of the Harvard Management Company.

Ed returned to the firm a year later and became the senior strategy officer of Goldman Sachs and in 2010 was named the co-head of the Investment Management Division with Tim O’Neill. Together they have led our efforts to increase our investing capacity and strategically grow our Investment Management businesses around the world, especially in the growth markets. Ed was the Management Committee sponsor of the Firmwide Black Network and previously the sponsor of the Firmwide Hispanic/Latin Network. He was named managing director in 1996 and partner in 1998.

Ed is a trustee of Carnegie Hall and is the treasurer and a member of the board’s Executive Committee. He is co-chair of Harvard University’s Taskforce on Balanced Philanthropy, co-chair of Harvard’s 30th Reunion campaign, and a member of the University’s Stem Cell Science Advisory Board.

Please join us in thanking Ed for his contributions to the firm and wishing him and his family all the best in the future.

Lloyd C. Blankfein
Gary D. Cohn

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