Goldman senior banker Stephanie Cohen departs for strategy role at Cloudflare

By Steve Gelsi

After 25 years at Goldman, Cohen to become cloud-technology company's first chief strategy officer

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. senior banker Stephanie Cohen is leaving the bank after 25 years to become the first chief strategy officer at Cloudflare Inc., according to an internal memo seen by MarketWatch.

Goldman Sachs (GS) Chief Executive David M. Solomon announced the departure of Cohen, who was global head of the bank's platform-solutions unit, which houses its financial-technology offerings. She was also a member of the bank's management committee.

Solomon thanked Cohen for her "outstanding contributions to the firm, our clients and our people."

In a statement on her LinkedIn page, Cohen said that Goldman Sachs "is an astonishing institution made up of incredible individuals" and thanked Solomon along with Chief Operating Officer John Waldron, investment-banking chair Alison Mass, executive vice president John Rogers and "so many other partners and friends" for their support.

"More than anything else I want to do something that matters with world-class people and in an environment that fosters learning and creativity," Cohen said. "I have had the privilege of doing that these last 25 years at Goldman Sachs and cannot wait for what lies ahead!"

Cloudflare (NET) Chief Executive Matthew Prince called Cohen an incredible executive.

"Anyone who has worked with her can attest she operates at a different clock speed," Prince said in a prepared statement. "It's clear that after her 25 years at Goldman Sachs, she could have gone anywhere, and we're honored that she'll be joining us."

Based in San Francisco, Cloudflare specializes in cloud-based services such as video streaming and advanced security for websites. Founded in 2009, the company went public in 2019 and currently employs about 3,700 people.

Cohen's departure comes as Solomon has said Goldman Sachs is falling short on keeping women in senior roles.

Cohen took a leave of absence in June for personal reasons and was not expected to resume work at the bank, the Wall Street Journal reported last week, citing unnamed partners at the firm. The newspaper on Monday initially reported the formal departure of Cohen, who had been named head of platform solutions in 2022 and global co-head of consumer banking and wealth management in 2020.

Goldman has since downsized portions of its platform-solutions unit to focus on its core business of wealth management and investment banking and trading.

Cloudflare's stock rose 1.4% on Monday morning, while Goldman Sachs shares dropped 0.6%.

Also read: Megabanks not immune to office-space slowdown as stressed loan percentage jumps

-Steve Gelsi

This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

03-18-24 1100ET

Copyright (c) 2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.