Business NEWS

Great move; Goldman Sachs CEO and six other top execs says no to Christmas bonuses for 2008.

By Amarendra Bhushan for CEOWORLD Magazine Updated:November 17, 2008

Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein and six other top execs including Jon Winkelried, Gary Cohn, David Viniar and three vice chairmen — J. Michael Evans, Michael Sherwood and John Weinberg of the troubled firm have decided to forgo their Christmas bonuses for 2008.

The seven execs will have to get by on their $600,000 base salaries, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo called it “an important step in the right direction” and said he hoped other banks would follow suit.

“This gesture by Goldman Sachs is appropriate and prudent and hopefully will help bring Wall Street to its senses,” he said.

Goldman, along with eight other major banks, is getting billions in taxpayer bailout money.

Blankfein, as well as Goldman’s president, chief operating officer, chief financial officer and three others asked the board’s compensation committee to skip their 2008 bonuses, company spokesman Lucas van Praag said.

Lloyd C. Blankfein
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Blankfein has been our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer since June 2006 and a director since April 2003. Previously, he had been our President and Chief Operating Officer since January 2004. Prior to that, from April 2002 until January 2004, he was a Vice Chairman of Goldman Sachs, with management responsibility for Goldman Sachs’ Fixed Income, Currency and Commodities Division (FICC) and Equities Division (Equities). Prior to becoming a Vice Chairman, he had served as co-head of FICC since its formation in 1997. From 1994 to 1997, he headed or co-headed the Currency and Commodities Division. Mr. Blankfein is not on the board of any public company other than Goldman Sachs. He is affiliated with certain non-profit organizations, including as a member of the Harvard University Committee on University Resources, the Advisory Board of the Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management and the Governing Board of the Indian School of Business, an overseer of the Weill Medical College of Cornell University, and a director of the Partnership for New York City and Catalyst.

Jon Winkelried
President and Co-Chief Operating Officer

Mr. Winkelried has been our President and Co-Chief Operating Officer and a director since June 2006. Previously, he had been the co-head of Goldman Sachs’ Investment Banking Division since January 2005. From 2000 to 2005, he was co-head of FICC. From 1999 to 2000, he was head of FICC in Europe. From 1995 to 1999, he was responsible for Goldman Sachs’ leveraged finance business. Mr. Winkelried is not on the board of any public company other than Goldman Sachs. He is also a trustee of the University of Chicago.

Gary D. Cohn
President and Co-Chief Operating Officer

Mr. Cohn has been our President and Co-Chief Operating Officer and a director since June 2006. Previously, he had been the co-head of Goldman Sachs’ global securities businesses since January 2004. He also had been the co-head of Equities since 2003 and the co-head of FICC since September 2002. From March 2002 to September 2002, he served as co-chief operating officer of FICC. Prior to that, beginning in 1999, Mr. Cohn managed the FICC macro businesses. From 1996 to 1999, he was the global head of Goldman Sachs’ commodities business. Mr. Cohn is not on the board of any public company other than Goldman Sachs. He is affiliated with certain non-profit organizations, including as a member of the Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association and as a trustee of the Gilmour Academy, the NYU Child Study Center, the NYU Hospital, the NYU Medical School, the Harlem Children’s Zone and American University.

David A. Viniar
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Viniar has been an Executive Vice President of Goldman Sachs and our Chief Financial Officer since May 1999. He has been the head of Operations, Technology, Finance and Services Division since December 2002. He was head of the Finance Division and co-head of Credit Risk Management and Advisory and Firmwide Risk from December 2001 to December 2002. Mr. Viniar was co-head of Operations, Finance and Resources from March 1999 to December 2001. He was Chief Financial Officer of The Goldman Sachs Group, L.P. from March 1999 to May 1999. From July 1998 until March 1999, he was Deputy Chief Financial Officer and from 1994 until July 1998, he was head of Finance, with responsibility for Controllers and Treasury. From 1992 to 1994, he was head of Treasury and prior to that was in the Structured Finance Department of Investment Banking. He also serves on the Board of Trustees of Union College.

John S. Weinberg
Vice Chairman

Mr. Weinberg has been a Vice Chairman of Goldman Sachs since June 2006. He has been co-head of Goldman Sachs’ Investment Banking Division since December 2002. From January 2002 to December 2002, he was co-head of the Investment Banking Division in the Americas. Prior to that, he served as co-head of the Investment Banking Services Department since 1997. He is affiliated with certain non-profit organizations, including as a board member at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, The Steppingstone Foundation, the Greenwich Country Day School and Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America. Mr. Weinberg also serves on the Visiting Committee for Harvard Business School.

J. Michael Evans
Vice Chairman

Mr. Evans has been a Vice Chairman of Goldman Sachs since February 2008 and chairman of Goldman Sachs Asia since 2004. Prior to becoming a Vice Chairman, he had served as global co-head of Goldman Sachs’ securities business since 2003. Previously, he had been co-head of the Equities Division since 2001. Mr. Evans is a board member of CASPER (Center for Advancement of Standards-based Physical Education Reform). He also serves as a trustee of the Bendheim Center for Finance at Princeton University.

Michael S. Sherwood
Vice Chairman

Mr. Sherwood has been a Vice Chairman of Goldman Sachs since February 2008 and co-chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs International since 2005. Prior to becoming a Vice Chairman, he had served as global co-head of Goldman Sachs’ securities business since 2003. Prior to that, he had been head of the Fixed Income, Currency and Commodities Division in Europe since 2001.