To the 638 newly appointed Managing Directors at Goldman Sachs, the message from your senior leadership is both celebratory and cautionary: heartfelt congratulations on reaching this impressive professional milestone, and a reminder that the most demanding and meaningful phase of your journey is only just beginning. While festive gatherings and well-deserved toasts may mark this achievement, the essence of leadership at Goldman Sachs lies in how you translate recognition into responsibility.
In honor of this significant moment, Business Insider approached five of Goldman Sachs’ seasoned partners — individuals who represent the firm’s highest managerial tier and serve as its ultimate stewards — to gather their personal insights and counsel for those stepping into managing director roles. Each partner, hailing from a distinct business division, contributed a perspective steeped in unique experience yet unified by shared principles: collaboration, humility, mentorship, and an expansive sense of ownership within one of the most respected financial institutions in the world.
The rank of Managing Director, one level below the distinguished circle of partnership, is both a symbol of accomplishment and a gateway to heightened responsibilities. Many partners once navigated this crucial stage, developing leadership acumen and organizational vision before rising to the firm’s senior-most ranks outside the executive suite. While the promotion undeniably brings rewards — including a generous base salary that can approach $400,000 — it simultaneously demands deeper involvement. An MD is no longer merely an executor of strategy but a principal architect of it, expected to lead teams, originate transactions, develop client relationships, and guide junior colleagues through example and mentorship.
The partners’ advice revolved around enduring themes that define Goldman Sachs’ culture: the primacy of teamwork, respect for others’ contributions, and the obligation to embody a higher caliber of leadership that fosters the institution’s long-term success. What follows is guidance, distilled and refined for clarity, from each of these partners — a collective narrative on what it means to lead from within.
**‘We,’ not ‘I’**
Meena Lakdawala-Flynn, the co-head of Global Private Wealth Management and One Goldman Sachs, underscored the importance of collaborative leadership and the necessity of placing team identity above personal acclaim. Her chief piece of advice can be summarized in one simple yet profound principle: leadership at the MD level is no longer about the individual; it is about the collective. She challenges new directors to pose difficult, introspective questions: How am I empowering my team? In what ways am I cultivating growth, cohesion, and opportunity for those around me? Most importantly, am I acting as a true steward of the firm’s legacy — someone entrusted to embody Goldman Sachs’ values in every client interaction, business decision, and internal collaboration? Her perspective reframes success not as personal advancement but as stewardship — a responsibility to preserve and elevate the institution for future generations.
**Cultivate the next generation of leaders**
Matt McClure, the global co-head of Investment Banking, expanded on this idea by emphasizing that promotion to MD is both a professional pinnacle and a renewed call to action. It is recognition of years of resilience, nuanced judgment, and unwavering commitment, but it also signals a deeper shift in accountability. According to McClure, managing directors occupy a critical position on the front lines of client engagement and institutional reputation. They must own client dialogues with confidence, set a cultural and ethical tone for their teams, and identify emerging talent capable of one day surpassing them. In his words, celebration is warranted — but it must quickly give way to purposeful leadership, as the success of one’s career at this level is measured not solely in deals closed but in the leaders one helps to create.
**‘Keep running towards the hard things’**
Leke Osinubi, the Chief Digital Risk Officer for Engineering and the Chief Information Security Officer for Goldman Sachs Bank USA, shared advice centered on perseverance and courage. He encouraged the new Managing Directors to continue gravitating toward the complex and uncomfortable challenges that once defined their ascent. Those difficult moments, he explained, shape not just professional competence but also character and resilience — the very qualities that have carried them to this moment of recognition. Yet, Osinubi also pointed out that this milestone is never purely individual. It is the culmination of collective effort, of teams that provide support, mentorship, and collaboration along the way. His charge to the new MDs: honor that shared effort by paying it forward. Use your expanded influence to foster opportunities for others, to mentor emerging colleagues, and to perpetuate the ethos of service and teamwork that distinguishes a Goldman Sachs leader.
**Be part of the ‘multiplier effect’**
Asahi Pompey, the Global Head of the Office of Corporate Engagement and Chair of the Urban Investment Group, approached the achievement from both a reflective and aspirational angle. She urged the new promotes to truly savor the accomplishment — not fleetingly, but with full appreciation for the years of dedication and perseverance it required. Yet she simultaneously challenged them to expand their legacy outward. The true measure of one’s success, Pompey observed, lies in one’s ability to empower others. She proposed a powerful vision: if every newly promoted Managing Director commits to identifying and uplifting at least one individual capable of similar achievement, the cumulative effect — a kind of organizational multiplier — would ripple through the firm, multiplying talent, opportunity, and excellence throughout Goldman Sachs.
**Demonstrate a new kind of ownership**
Finally, Alexandra Wilson-Elizondo, the Global Co-head of Multi-Asset Solutions within Goldman Sachs Asset Management, offered insight from her role in the rigorous selection process. She reminded the new MDs that such promotions are not mere formalities; they reflect an intensive and deeply considered assessment of leadership potential. Watching senior leaders devote themselves to selecting future stewards of the firm reaffirmed her belief in the mission-driven nature of Goldman Sachs’ culture. For Wilson-Elizondo, achieving MD status signifies a profound transformation: it is the moment a professional shifts from being a contributor — focused on their individual output — to becoming an owner, one whose responsibility encompasses the success of entire teams and initiatives. She emphasized that this new station entails gratitude as well as accountability. The leaders who reach this level do so not alone but through the support of a collective network — mentors, peers, and colleagues who have shared in the journey. Recognizing that interdependence and nurturing it forward ensures that leadership continuity remains strong.
Across all voices, a unifying message emerges: the Managing Director title is not a conclusion but a new beginning, one that demands humility, mentorship, and a long-term perspective. Leadership within Goldman Sachs is measured less by individual success than by the ability to strengthen the enterprise and inspire others to realize their potential. To lead here means to embody purpose — to serve not only as a representative of the firm but also as a custodian of its enduring values, ensuring that the cycle of growth, excellence, and shared prosperity continues into the future.
Sourse: https://www.businessinsider.com/goldman-sachs-partners-advice-new-managing-directors-2025-11
