Jim O'Neill Named Chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management

New York, NY, September 10, 2010 – Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) announced today that Jim O’Neill has been named Chairman of the business. Most recently, Mr. O’Neill was Head of Global Economics, Commodities and Strategy Research for Goldman, Sachs & Co., where he managed the firm’s economics, strategy and commodity research teams.

“Jim brings broad experience across asset classes, a track record of identifying important investment trends and strong relationships with clients around the world,” said Ed Forst and Tim O’Neill, Global Co-Heads of the Investment Management Division of Goldman Sachs, which includes Goldman Sachs Asset Management. “His powerful voice in the global investment community will help us continue to demonstrate the value we add for our clients.”

Mr. O’Neill will remain based in London and will report to Mssrs. Forst and O’Neill. As part of GSAM’s senior leadership team, Mr. O’Neill will help lead all aspects of the GSAM business and serve as an important voice for GSAM in expressing his views on global investment themes. He will work closely with divisional management and with portfolio management teams on developing innovative strategies for clients. He will also continue to write about his views in this newly-created role designed to leverage Mr. O’Neill’s global perspective on world markets. Mr. O’Neill’s appointment to GSAM is subject to UK regulatory approval.

Mr. O’Neill is the creator of the acronym BRICs. Together with his colleagues, he has published much research about BRICs, which has become synonymous with the emergence of Brazil, Russia, India and China as the growth opportunities of the future. He is a member of the boards of the Royal Economic Society in the UK, Bruegel and Itinera. He is a member of the UK-India Round Table and the UKIBC. Mr. O’Neill is chairman and one of the founding trustees of the London-based charity SHINE. He sits on the board of a number of other charities, primarily specializing in education.

Mr. O’Neill also serves on the Senior Diversity Council at Goldman Sachs. He was named head of Global Economics Research in 2001. He joined Goldman Sachs in 1995 as a partner, co-head of Global Economics Research and chief currency economist.

Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Mr. O’Neill was head of research globally for Swiss Bank Corporation. He also held positions with Bank of America and International Treasury Management, a division of Marine Midland Bank. Mr. O’Neill earned a degree in economics from Sheffield University in 1978 and a PhD from the University of Surrey in 1982. He received an honorary doctorate from the Institute of Education, University of London, in 2009 for his educational philanthropy.

Goldman Sachs Asset Management is the asset management arm of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS), which manages $802 billion as of June 30, 2010. Goldman Sachs Asset Management has been providing discretionary investment advisory services since 1988 and has investment professionals in all major financial centers around the world. The company offers investment strategies across a broad range of asset classes to institutional and individual clients globally. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is a leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm that provides a wide range of financial services to a substantial and diversified client base that includes corporations, financial institutions, governments and high-net-worth individuals.


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