A young man with an English major who was turned away by Goldman Sachs for failing a financial modeling test has, after 27 years of twists and turns, arrived at the threshold of taking the helm of this top Wall Street investment bank. This is the story of John Waldron, and it is also the prelude to the next chapter for Goldman Sachs.

According to multiple overseas media outlets including The Wall Street Journal, the Goldman Sachs board has begun discussions on a succession plan 鈥?current President and Chief Operating Officer John Waldron could succeed David Solomon as CEO as early as the end of 2027, with Solomon potentially transitioning to executive chairman at that time. If this plan comes to fruition, it would become one of the most dramatic career comeback stories on Wall Street in recent years: the liberal arts graduate whom Goldman Sachs once dismissed as "not good enough at math" will decide how Goldman Sachs charts its course for the next decade.

From Rejected Applicant to Successor: A Career Trajectory of Stark Contrast

Public records show that Waldron is 57 years old, grew up in Cleveland, and moved to Philadelphia with his father at age 15. He attended the private Lawrenceville School in New Jersey, played on the hockey and baseball teams, and wrote for the school newspaper. He then went on to Middlebury College in Vermont, majoring in English with a minor in economics.

"I was more of an English student than a finance student," Waldron said at a Brigham Young University event in 2023. "I thought I was going to be a writer." What changed the trajectory of his life was a summer business program at the University of Chicago 鈥?he decided to venture into Wall Street, originally intending to stay only a few years before switching careers. "But I fell in love with the work and, more importantly, with the people I worked with."

After graduation, Waldron submitted his resume to Goldman Sachs and was rejected. The reason was direct: he failed the financial modeling test. He later admitted on Blackstone's podcast "Inside Blackstone": "I didn't have a strong enough foundation in math and accounting." Ultimately, he joined Bear Stearns, which at the time was known for its leveraged finance business and had a more entrepreneurial style.

There, a second-year analyst mentor taught him hands-on how to build financial models 鈥?"because when I got there, I had no idea how to balance a balance sheet."

From Bear Stearns to Goldman Sachs: One Sentence from Solomon

The relationship between Waldron and Solomon is key to understanding his career ascent. The two met at Bear Stearns, and Solomon left first to join Goldman Sachs. In 1999, Solomon told Waldron: "I think you'd like it here."

Waldron recalled on Goldman Sachs' 2019 podcast "Exchanges at Goldman Sachs" that this remark ultimately prompted him to make the move in 2000. After joining Goldman Sachs, he was quickly promoted to partner in just two years. He subsequently built his credentials in leveraged finance and financial sponsor coverage, serving as global co-head from 2007 to 2009, transitioning to global head of investment banking services and client coverage in 2009, and being promoted to co-head of the investment banking division in 2014.

Waldron's description of this partnership is direct: "Solomon has been my career mentor. We have different talents and complement each other in many ways. We will argue behind closed doors, but when we walk out, we present a unified direction."

In October 2018, Solomon became CEO, and Waldron was appointed President and Chief Operating Officer, formally entering the top management. From being rejected by Goldman Sachs to becoming its number two executive, Waldron took a full 18 years.

Someone Tried to Poach Him; Goldman Sachs Paid $80 Million to Keep Him

Around 2024, this "unspoken partnership" within Goldman Sachs nearly faced a disruption.

According to Reuters and The Wall Street Journal, alternative asset management institutions such as Apollo began approaching Waldron to negotiate potential positions. When word reached the Goldman Sachs board, the bank took action: granting Waldron restricted stock retention incentives worth approximately $80 million.

Shortly thereafter, Waldron formally joined the Goldman Sachs board in February 2025, elevating from operations chief to a full member at the corporate governance level. In 2025, Waldron's compensation was $45 million, slightly below Solomon's $47 million. The gap is narrowing.

This series of moves is uncommon on Wall Street, and its scale is enough to demonstrate how much Goldman Sachs values this successor candidate. From the perspective of external institutions, Waldron's appeal is obvious: over 25 years of investment banking and operations management experience, deeply embedded in Goldman Sachs' global client network, and with extensive cross-business line coordination experience at a time when asset and wealth management businesses are rapidly expanding.

The COO's Daily Routine: Operations, Risk, and Breaking Down Barriers

Waldron started out in investment banking client relationships, a background that has profoundly shaped his management style. He and Solomon together participate in approximately one thousand client meetings each year, maintaining high-frequency contact with top CEOs and founders globally. He personally views this trust-based relationship as a core career asset: "In a world where information spreads extremely fast and is highly transparent, the ability to make people believe you can keep secrets is very important."

Before entering the CEO's office, Waldron distinguished between the two titles of President and COO.

"I put COO before President," he said on Goldman Sachs' internal podcast. "The President title resonates more externally, useful when meeting with governments, regulators, and clients, but internally, people care more about whether you're actually doing the COO's job." His daily core responsibilities are: driving execution across business lines, streamlining cross-departmental coordination, and helping manage firmwide risk 鈥?he currently also serves as co-chair of Goldman Sachs' firmwide enterprise risk committee.

One of the most important internal initiatives is the "One Goldman Sachs" strategy he and Solomon jointly promoted in 2018. The core logic of this strategy is to break down internal barriers, incentivize business lines to refer clients and business to each other, and serve clients as a unified whole. "The organizational structure was hindering the company culture from flourishing," Waldron said of the strategy's origins. "We have a collaborative cultural DNA, but we need to unlock it."

According to The Wall Street Journal, the continued advancement of the "One Goldman Sachs" strategy has driven overall company revenue growth. In Waldron's management style, a leadership maxim from Eisenhower has always accompanied him: "Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it."

What Kind of Goldman Sachs He Would Inherit: AI Transformation and Strategic Refocus

If Waldron ultimately becomes Goldman Sachs' next CEO, he will inherit a company in the midst of a strategic refocusing cycle.

In terms of business structure, approximately 75% of Goldman Sachs' current revenue comes from global banking and markets, with 25% from asset and wealth management. Waldron has stated on multiple occasions that ultra-high-net-worth wealth management still has significant growth potential. He mentioned on the Inside Blackstone podcast that total U.S. household wealth currently stands at approximately $80 trillion, nearly 10 times household income, which presents both opportunities and societal challenges.

On the AI transformation front, Waldron has made clear that 2026 will be a "learning year" for Goldman Sachs 鈥?testing models, evaluating effectiveness, and assessing return on investment.

"By 2027, you will begin to see real productivity gains," he said. He has personally felt the time savings AI brings in meeting preparation, but also candidly acknowledged that his concern about AI cybersecurity risks is no less than his attention to its technological potential. Goldman Sachs has also been deeply involved in providing financial structure design for the $500 billion computing power consortium led by Nvidia, exploring financing models for computing resources similar to auto loans or mortgage securitization.

On how to recruit and develop talent in the AI era, Waldron's answer is quite personal: "I'm rooting for the English majors, history majors, and philosophy majors." He said the core capabilities Goldman Sachs needs 鈥?analytical thinking, intellectual curiosity, effective communication 鈥?are being brought back to the center of hiring criteria by AI. And he himself is the best footnote to this logic: the English major who once failed the financial modeling test is now considering how Goldman Sachs should deploy artificial intelligence in its next phase.