Top Goldman Sachs executive quits for hedge fund Millennium
Izzy Englander poaches latest partner from Wall Street bank, where David Solomon faces fresh unrest
Goldman Sachs’ global treasurer, Philip Berlinski, is leaving the bank after 24 years for New York-based hedge fund Millennium Management, according to two people familiar with the situation.
Goldman has proved fertile hunting ground for Millennium founder Izzy Englander, who has tapped several of the bank’s partners for roles at his $62.2bn hedge fund as he moves to build out the management ranks of the 35-year-old firm.
Berlinski, who will become co-chief operating officer, is the latest in a series of high-profile departures from Goldman, where chief executive David Solomon is contending with renewed upset over appointments to the bank’s prestigious new internal committees.
The unrest has punctured a period of relative calm for Solomon, who had come under fire earlier in his tenure over mis-steps on pay and strategy.
Other recent partner-level exits include Solomon’s longtime lieutenant, Jim Esposito, and Beth Hammack, co-head of the bank’s financing group and one of the most senior women at Goldman.
After joining as an equity derivatives research analyst in 1998, Berlinski climbed to roles that included chief operating officer of global equities. He was appointed the bank’s global treasurer in 2021. Like Hammack, he had previously been talked about as a potential candidate for chief financial officer.
Goldman and Millennium declined to comment.
Englander has built Millennium into a hedge fund that increasingly resembles the markets division of a global bank.
The firm, one of the world’s most prominent multi-manager hedge funds, has 5,500 employees globally and more than 300 investment teams trading a range of different strategies within strict risk limits.
Englander has recruited several Goldman executives. In 2021 he hired three former Goldman partners — Paul Russo, Scott Rofey and Jeffrey Verschleiser — to lead the risk management of the firm’s equity, macro and rates, and credit divisions respectively.
Another former Goldman partner, Justin Gmelich, was hired the following year to be co-chief investment officer alongside the promoted Russo.
Berlinski will report to Millennium’s president and chief operating officer, Ajay Nagpal, who has played a crucial role over the past decade in helping the business become more institutional to reflect its expansion.
Millennium gained 3.7 per cent in the first quarter of this year and has delivered average annual returns of about 14 per cent since inception, according to investors.