The head of Goldman Sachs Group Inc’s (GS.N) fintech unit called Platform Solutions is taking a leave of absence for family reasons, she said in a memo to staff seen by Reuters. Stephanie Cohen oversees the bank’s credit card partnerships with Apple and General Motors, transaction banking, and installment-lending fintech GreenSky. The memo said Philip Berlinski, Goldman’s treasurer, and Ericka Leslie, chief administrative officer, would take over her responsibilities in her absence.
The news of Cohen’s departure comes as Goldman refocuses its technology efforts on consumer lending and transaction services. It is also struggling to make the new division it has built up over the past few years a core business. The reshuffle announced by CEO David Solomon and his deputy John Waldron combines the asset management, investment banking, and global markets businesses into three primary units, with platforms like Marcus and its consumer-facing digital bank folded into one of those.
In my conversation with Stephanie today, we talked about that strategy and how it reflects our world. We’ll also talk about her career arc — how she became the highest-ranking woman at Goldman and the lessons that competitive figure skating can offer anyone trying to achieve their dreams.
I’ve long been a fan of Cohen’s, so I was very excited to sit down with her this week. She was very open about her decision to step away, which was incredibly mature and thoughtful. It also reflected the reality of so many people’s lives that family must come first and that it’s essential to balance work with a personal life to thrive.
The interview was just over an hour long, but it was a great conversation, and I’m happy to have had the chance to hear from such a high-ranking woman at Goldman about her experiences. She is a tremendous role model for women and men everywhere.
Stephanie Cohen is Global Co-Head of Consumer and Wealth Management at Goldman Sachs. Her team is focused on building a consumer-centric, data-driven bank that can serve as the foundation for clients to embed financial products within the digital ecosystems where they already live. She is a member of the Management Committee and the Global Executive Sponsor for the firm’s Women’s Network.
She joined the firm in 1999 in the mergers and acquisitions department, becoming a partner after climbing the ranks. In 2018, she was named co-head of Goldman’s consumer and wealth management business.
