establishing Strategic Positioning AND driving BUSINESS Growth in a New COMPANY

Executive Director at Goldman Sachs – Private Wealth Management EMEA

context

Goldman Sachs’ Private Wealth Management (PWM) division in EMEA put in place a hiring initiative to bring lateral hires to bring external expertise and expand into niche markets. This was a shift from their traditional approach of promoting internal talent, and they needed these new leaders to thrive quickly.

I worked with one of the new Executive Directors, a senior leader with extensive investment experience in the US and UK who joined from Barclays.

Challenge

As an external lateral hire, she needed to establish credibility quickly, adapt to a new corporate culture, and position herself as a strategic leader in a highly competitive environment—all while driving business growth.

Objectives

  • Deliver tangible impact within 90 days while avoiding burnout.

  • Develop a strategic vision to expand in a niche market.

  • Establish credibility and gain influence.

  • Developing the resilience and focus needed to navigate a new and demanding environment.

Results

  • Expanded visibility across EMEA and the US, positioning herself as a key player and setting a precedent for lateral hire integration.

  • Drove business expansion with a focused approach to engaging high-net-worth clients.

  • Engaged in discussions with her management and Talent leaders on using this structured approach to onboard and support lateral hires and further advance the division.

Roadmap

In 3 months, we tackled three key stages:

  • She needed to position herself as a key person of influence - a reference among her niche for high-net-worth clients. She needed to:

    • Conduct a strategic market scan to identify untapped opportunities in the high-net-worth client segment.

    • Engage in introspection and analysis of the evolving needs, behaviors, and challenges of ultra-high-net-worth clients in this space.

    • Shape a compelling business case for an innovative approach to serving this niche.

  • She established this business case as her anchor, allowing her to:

    • Focus on high-impact actions and strategic priorities, rather than being derailed by emotional stress or external pressures.

    • Identify key events and meetings to grow her portfolio.

    • Leverage critical connections to strengthen her positioning and onboard high-net-worth clients.

    • We developed a structured pitch architecture to present her business case to the US head of PWM for expanding results in Sports and Entertainment in America. The pitch focused on:

      • The problem in the industry.

      • The cost of inaction for Goldman.

      • The solution

      • Early successes.

      • 1-Y Global Vision.

    • She saw the potential to apply this approach to other lateral hires and presented it to her leader as a model for improving integration and success.

key Insights

  • Pitch architecture: Mastering how to frame and deliver a business case to engage senior leadership and position herself as a key person of influence in the market.

  • Vision as an anchor: Realizing that a clear vision is an anchor that guides you through obstacles and emotional lows.

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