Goldman Consumer Head Is Leaving to Run Walmart Fintech -- Update
February 28 2021 - 12:30PM
Dow Jones News
By Peter Rudegeair
A Goldman Sachs Group Inc. executive who helped build its
consumer-banking business from scratch is leaving to take on a
similar task at Walmart Inc.
Omer Ismail, a Goldman partner and the head of its Marcus
consumer unit, is leaving the bank to run a recently announced
Walmart financial-technology startup, according to people familiar
with the matter.
Mr. Ismail, who first joined Goldman nearly 20 years ago, was
among a group of executives who came up with a strategy to expand
into digital banking services in 2014. By the end of last year,
that business generated $1.2 billion in annual revenue, had amassed
$97 billion in deposits and held $8 billion in consumer-loan
balances.
Walmart said in January that it was creating a majority-owned
fintech subsidiary in a partnership with venture-capital firm
Ribbit Capital, a backer of Credit Karma Inc., Affirm Holdings Inc.
and other fast-growing startups.
"Our customers have been clear that they want more from us in
terms of financial services," Walmart Chief Executive Doug McMillon
said at an investor event earlier this month. "This new approach
will help us deliver for them in a differentiated way more
quickly."
Joining Mr. Ismail at Walmart will be David Stark, some of the
people said. A former Citigroup Inc. executive who joined Goldman
in 2015, Mr. Stark helped it land and build credit-card offerings
with Apple Inc. and General Motors Co.
Bloomberg News earlier reported that Messrs. Ismail and Stark
were leaving Goldman to join Walmart's fintech startup.
Goldman has reshuffled the ranks of its consumer business in
recent months. Former strategy chief Stephanie Cohen was promoted
to global co-head of Goldman's consumer and wealth management
division last September. Goldman also recently hired Swati Bhatia
from payments startup Stripe Inc. in a senior role at Marcus.
"Our business has serious momentum and a deep and growing bench
of talent," a Goldman spokesman said in an email. A Walmart
representative didn't immediately respond to a request for
comment.
Following Mr. Ismail's departure, Harit Talwar will return to a
more active management role at Marcus. Mr. Talwar previously served
as the global head of Goldman's consumer business until the start
of 2021, when he moved into the role of chairman.
Write to Peter Rudegeair at Peter.Rudegeair@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 28, 2021 12:15 ET (17:15 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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