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John Vaske, one of Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s merger and acquisition co-chairs, is retiring from the firm, according to a memo reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

A 28-year veteran of the investment bank, Mr. Vaske in December was named the third co-chair of the Goldman's global M&A group, alongside Tim Ingrassia and Paul Parker. He started in Goldman's M&A department as an analyst in 1988 and became a chemicals banker, and later head of the natural-resources group.

Mr. Vaske recently advised DuPont Co., a longtime client, through its fight with activist investor Nelson Peltz and its subsequent, pending merger with Dow Chemical Co. He also advised Baker Hughes Inc. on its aborted sale to Halliburton Co., which fell apart amid regulatory scrutiny earlier this year.

The veteran merger banker was named managing director in 1998 and a partner in 2000—an unusually fast promotion track—and spent time in the bank's offices in Tokyo and London.

Before joining Goldman, Mr. Vaske played basketball at Columbia University, where his nicknames, according to the Columbia Daily Spectator, included both "The Pillsbury Dough Boy" for his strawberry-blond, farm-boy look, and "The Terminator" for his defensive skills. He remains a booster of the program, as chair of the basketball alumni committee, and is on the board of PeacePlayers International, which runs basketball programs in conflict-riddled countries.

His retirement was announced in a memo from Richard Gnodde, David Solomon and John Waldron, co-heads of the investment-banking division, which includes M&A. A copy of the memo was viewed by The Wall Street Journal.

"Over the course of his career, John has enhanced our client franchise by building meaningful and longstanding relationships with numerous clients, has led a number of significant transactions, and has played a central role in growing our natural resources business across regions," it reads.

Write to Liz Hoffman at liz.hoffman@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 04, 2016 14:45 ET (18:45 GMT)

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