高盛CEO今夏将离职？

    据称高盛（Goldman Sachs）首席执行官劳埃德•布兰克费恩可能最早于今夏离任，现任高盛总裁兼首席运营官的盖瑞•科恩是接替他的第一人选，消息来源是高盛一位高管以及一位接近该公司的消息人士。

    高盛一位新闻发言人拒绝置评。

    当然，接下来的几个月里什么事情都有可能发生，57岁的布兰克费恩的离任也并不确定。布兰克费恩本人是否愿意下台也是个未知数。布兰克费恩与他人共担首席执行官一职也并非没有可能。高盛过去就有过不少这样的先例，前联席首席执行官包括约翰•温伯格和约翰•怀特黑德、罗伯特•鲁宾和史蒂芬•弗里德曼以及乔恩•科赛和亨利•鲍尔森。

    但公司治理专家强调，美国大型金融机构的管理层变更非常有助于这些公司度过金融危机带来的诸多问题，尤其是声誉受损问题。精力充沛、行事果断的布兰克费恩是一名邮政工人的儿子，在纽约布鲁克林长大，是少数几个在金融危机之后仍成功留任的大银行首席执行官之一。另一位是摩根大通（JPMorgan Chase）的首席执行官杰米•戴蒙。

    盖瑞•科恩接替布兰克费恩的概率看起来越来越大了。在高盛，科恩是和布兰克费恩一起从交易员升上来的高管，但在过去约17年的时间里，他已经成为公司的顶级高管。高盛所有重要部门的负责人都向科恩汇报。他还是高盛的全球大使。最近一次露面是在今年的达沃斯世界经济论坛（World Economic Forum）上，科恩主办了一场晚宴，款待商界和政坛的精英。

    据多位消息人士称，现年51岁的科恩是当前高盛董事会的首选，尽管去年夏季有猜测称，科恩可能不会入选，因为他有时脾气暴躁，而且与布兰克费恩关系密切。这些消息人士还说，高盛成长市场全球负责人迈克•埃文斯一度极力将自己打造为接替布兰克费恩的人选。埃文斯曾推动高盛降低对交易收入的依赖、将重点放在投资银行业务上，但他本人并没有赢得董事会的支持。目前，埃文斯负责实施由高盛商业标准委员会提出的种种改革；但消息人士称，如果科恩上台，埃文斯在高盛的位置将岌岌可危。

    至于谁将接替科恩，有猜测认为是高盛投资银行部门联席主管戴维•所罗门和证券部门联席主管哈维•施瓦茨。眼下，公司正在培养他们担任更重要的职位，其中可能就包括首席运营官一职。

    Lloyd Blankfein may step down as chief executive of Goldman Sachs as early as this summer; and president and chief operating officer Gary Cohn is the lead candidate to replace him, according to a Goldman executive and a source close to the firm.

    A Goldman spokesman declined to comment.

    To be sure, anything can happen over the course of the next few months and the departure of Blankfein, 57, is not certain. It is still up in the air whether Blankfein wants to step down. It would also not be unheard of for Blankfein to share the role of CEO, as so many others at Goldman have in the past. Former co-heads include John Weinberg and John Whitehead; Robert Rubin and Stephen Friedman; and Jon Corzine and Henry Paulson.

    But corporate governance experts have emphasized that leadership changes at the nation's largest financial institutions go a long way toward helping those firms move past the troubles - particularly the reputational damages – wrought by the financial crisis. The feisty Blankfein, the son of a postal worker who grew up in Brooklyn, is one of the only big bank CEOs to have kept his job after the financial crisis. The other is Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase (JPM).

    It seems increasingly certain that Gary Cohn would replace Blankfein. Cohn rose through the ranks at the firm as a trader, along with Blankfein; but over the last 17 years or so he has become a top manager. All of the firm's key business heads report to Cohn. He has also emerged as a global ambassador for the bank. Most recently Cohn hosted a dinner at this year's World Economic Forum in Davos, which was attended by corporate leaders and politicians.

    Cohn, 51, is currently the board's top choice, according to sources, despite speculation last summer that Cohn would be passed over due to a sometimes testy demeanor and his close ties with Blankfein. These sources add that J. Michael Evans, the global head of growth markets, tried to position himself to succeed Blankfein. Evans, who pushed for Goldman (GS) to become less dependent on trading revenue and to focus on investment banking, has not won the support of the board. He is currently overseeing implementation of changes created by the firm's business standards committee; but sources say that his position at the firm would be very precarious if Cohn were to become CEO.

    As for who would replace Cohn, there is speculation that David Solomon, co-head of the investment bank, and Harvey Schwartz, co-head of the securities division, are being groomed for bigger positions at the firm, possibly including the role of chief operating officer.