Another of Goldman Sachs’s high-profile departures has found a landing spot.
Jim Esposito, the bank’s former co-head of global banking and markets, will join market maker Citadel Securities as president, starting in September, a spokesperson for company said Thursday. He’ll be based in Miami and will report to CEO Peng Zhao.
Esposito’s role will be a new one for the trading firm: He will be responsible for growing client and partner relationships as Citadel Securities expands into additional markets with new products.
"Throughout his storied career, Jim has been renowned for developing deep relationships with his clients and partners, building industry-leading businesses, and leading winning teams," Zhao told Business Insider in a statement. "We are thrilled to welcome Jim to Citadel Securities during a period of significant expansion and opportunity for our firm."
Goldman announced in January that Esposito would leave the bank after more than 28 years there. That history — and the fact that he was a known quantity to Citadel’s leaders through the firm’s relationship with Goldman — was a major reason Citadel Securities hired Esposito, the spokesman told Business Insider.
“For over 20 years, I have partnered with [Citadel Securities’] principals across a variety of successful initiatives, and look forward to helping define and drive the firm’s ambitious growth plans,” Esposito wrote Thursday on LinkedIn.
Esposito wouldn’t be the only Goldman alum to launch a new chapter this week. Beth Hammack, former co-head of the bank’s global financing group and a onetime CFO contender, announced Tuesday she’d be joining the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland as its next president in August.
Nor would Esposito be the first Goldman alum to join Citadel Securities. The company hired 26-year Goldman fixed-income vet Av Bhavsar to serve as head of cross-asset distribution, Bloomberg reported.
In announcing his departure from Goldman in January, Esposito said he had “no formal plans for what comes next, which feels like the ultimate luxury after going full out for decades.”
He did, however, acknowledge being “consumed by a feeling of merely going through the motions, which isn't in my DNA nor what makes [Goldman] special."
"As the pace of innovation accelerates at a mind blowing speed, there's a strong pull to explore new adventures,” Esposito wrote at the time.
In an unconventional show of support from a former employer, Goldman's global head of corporate communications, on behalf of the bank, told Business Insider on Thursday, "Jim was a terrific leader at Goldman throughout his career. We all wish him well and look forward to new opportunities to work together."
