Goldman names Schwartz CFO as Viniar retires

(Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc's longtime chief financial officer, David Viniar, will retire at the end of January and be replaced by Harvey Schwartz, the global co-head of securities, the investment bank said on Tuesday.

Schwartz, 48, joined Goldman in 1997 from Citibank. He is among a small group of executives who are considered candidates for the chief executive position when CEO Lloyd Blankfein eventually steps down.

Before taking on his current job, Schwartz worked in various roles selling products and services to clients. He was global head of sales in the securities division and co-head of the financing group in the Americas, which helps companies find ways to fund their operations.

In a statement, Blankfein cited Schwartz's "deep experience in credit, liquidity, market and operational risk."

Viniar, 57, has been with Goldman for 32 years and is the longest-serving CFO on Wall Street, having entered his current position in 2000. Viewed on Wall Street as a strong risk manager, he was instrumental in helping Goldman manage through volatile markets during and after the financial crisis that was touched off in 2007.

Viniar will join Goldman's board of directors as a non-independent director. The bank said it also expects to name independent directors to its board soon.

"This change is part of the natural evolution," Viniar said in a conference call with stock analysts after the announcement. "It was time for me to contribute to the firm in other ways, and give others the opportunity to lead."

Schwartz will also assume Viniar's responsibilities for overseeing operations and technology, and he will be co-head of the firmwide risk committee, the company said.

In 2002, Schwartz was named partner at Goldman.

Goldman currently has 10 directors. Two of them are also executives - Blankfein and President Gary Cohn - and one of them, Stephen Friedman, previously served as a senior partner and chairman of the management committee when Goldman was still a private partnership.

In the conference call after the announcement, officials said they would not discuss upcoming financial results, which are due to be reported on October 16.

Goldman's stock has climbed 32.6 percent this year. The stock closed at $119.88, down 2 cents, in trading on Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Lauren Tara LaCapra; Editing by Gary Hill and Tim Dobbyn)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/goldman-names-schwartz-cfo-role-viniar-retires-201545663--sector.html

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