Goldman Sachs, Girding for More Deals, Promotes Two Tech Bankers
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Goldman Sachs promoted two of its senior investment bankers this week to prepare for a moment it has long been hoping for: a return of tech deals.
Jane Dunlevie, a tech-focused banker who helped run Instacart’s initial public offering and Stripe’s $7 billion private capital raise last year, will expand her role to become global head of investment banking services for tech, media and telecom. She will also remain global head of internet investment banking. Jason Rowe, who has been running Goldman’s Canada unit, will co-lead software investment banking with two others.
The Takeaway
• Goldman promotes bankers Jane Dunlevie, Jason Rowe
• Goldman tech, media and telecom head Kim Posnett says firm is preparing for more IPOs
• Dunlevie to help decide how Goldman pursues deals around “the AI value chain,” including digital infrastructure, data centers and chips
Kim Posnett, who runs Goldman’s 300-person global tech, media and telecom group, announced the moves internally this week. She said in an interview that the firm was getting ready for more IPOs after Reddit launched its road show for investors this week. Goldman has said only seven tech companies launched IPOs in 2022 and 2023 combined, compared to more than 160 in the previous two years, crunching the bank’s dealmaking revenue.
“We have many more [IPOs] in our pipeline for the balance of the year. That’s not a statement I’ve said in recent years,” she said. “It could lead to a further opening of the equity markets, which is important for us to be prepared for.”
The expanded role for Dunlevie, a partner since 2020, will include helping to decide how Goldman’s tech group pursues clients and deals around a lucrative area—“the AI value chain”—Posnett said, meaning “digital infrastructure, data centers and semiconductors.”
Rowe, a partner since 2016, will join Goldman’s software investment banking leadership, which also includes Ryan Nolan and Nicholas van den Arend, as buyout firms struggle to offload portfolio companies or take them public. Rowe has previously worked on software deals such as Compuware’s $2.4 billion sale to Thoma Bravo in 2014, as well as Mobileye’s 2022 IPO.
Goldman ranks second in global investment banking revenue so far this year, with slightly more than $1 billion, behind JPMorgan Chase, according to Dealogic.
Goldman is among the underwriters on Reddit’s IPO, although rival Morgan Stanley is the lead bank on the deal. Goldman got the top banking assignment for software firm Rubrik, another highly anticipated tech IPO expected in the coming months. Some high-profile private tech companies Goldman has worked closely with, such as Stripe and Canva, have opted to sell shares to investors privately this year rather than go public.
Other upcoming potential tech IPOs, included on our Tech IPO tracker, include fintech Klarna, healthcare startup Tempus and cybersecurity firm Cato Networks.
The promotions come as Goldman Sachs has faced scrutiny about the lack of women in top roles at the investment bank. The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that about two-thirds of the women who were Goldman partners at the end of 2018 have left the firm or have a different title, while the same was true for just under half of male partners at the time.