- Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said on Tuesday that his side-gig as a DJ taught him about the power of showing his human side while leading the bank.
- Solomon, who took over the chief executive role from Lloyd Blankfein on Monday, gave remarks at Fortune's Most Powerful Women Event in Laguna Niguel, California.
- "It's all about being human and opening yourself up," he said.
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The new CEO of Goldman Sachs says people used to 'cower in a corner' when he got in the elevator — until they learned he's a DJ on the side (GS)
David Solomon, who took over the chief executive role from Lloyd Blankfein on Monday, gave remarks at Fortune's Most Powerful Women Event in Laguna Niguel, California.
For new Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, moonlighting as a DJ has had some added benefits, besides making the Billboard charts.
Solomon said that for years as a senior banker, he'd walk into the elevator at Goldman and would be met with blank stares. "I'd say hi and most people would look at their feet and cower in the corner," he said on Tuesday as part of a panel for Fortune's Most Powerful Women Summit in Laguna Niguel, California.
But that all changed when word spread that Solomon hit the turntables at clubs around Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Hamptons under the name D-Sol.
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"When people started seeing I had this hobby and was into music, a 24 year-old analyst would say 'Hey David, I saw your post on this and I heard your track,'" he said. "They want to connect with you, talk about how they got to the firm. It's about being human and opening yourself up. We all used to keep our private lives so separated from what we were doing in business and that's changed."
Solomon hasn't shied away from the hobby. Onan episode of the podcast "Exchanges at Goldman Sachs," Solomon described himself as a lifelong audiophile intrigued by the modern music industry.
Solomon has encouraged senior employees to open up to their junior staff and share personal aspects about their lives to facilitate trust.
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