Promoted from the macro trading division.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: Ashok Varadhan has been appointed as the new co-head of the Goldman Sachs securities division, joining Isabelle Ealet and Pablo Salame at the front of one of the esteemed hedge fund’s most important divisions.
Varadhan is the son of Srinivasa Varadhan, a mathematician originally from Chennai who is now a professor at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University.
Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein released a statement saying that Varadhan has been an “effective voice on a number of firm-wide, regional and divisional committee,” and that “As a long-tenured leader in the securities division, Ashok has demonstrated dedication to our clients and a deep understanding of our business.”
The securities division of Goldman Sachs is the largest of its four divisions, and was responsible for generating more than 50% of the investment bank’s total 2012 revenue. Historically, those who have headed up the division have gone on to the top spot at the hedge fund, making Varadhan next in line to succeed to the troubled company.
Goldman Sachs has been in the news quite a bit recently, but for all the wrong reasons. Most famously, former director Rajat Gupta was fined nearly $14 million and permanently barred from the securities industry for engaging in insider trading during his time with the firm.
Varadhan was promoted from his current position as the head of macro trading, also within the securities division. The 41 year-old has been with Goldman Sachs since 1998, joining the company for swaps trading before being promoted to dollar derivative trades, then North American interest rate products and finally the global head of foreign exchange, a position he assumed at 2007. During his time, he has also been a managing director and a partner at Goldman Sachs for the last decade.
To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com