Dan Dees has been appointed co-head of Goldman Sachs’s global technology, media and telecom (TMT) group to pave the way for his relocation to the US this month.
The fact that Dees is leaving Asia was reported by FinanceAsia in early November but his new role was only announced by Goldman in the US on Tuesday. According to an internal memo, Dees, who is 43, will be based in San Francisco and will work alongside fellow TMT co-head Anthony Noto.
The fact he is moving into a sector role is somewhat surprising given that he is one of Goldman’s most senior bankers in Asia. Dees is currently the US bank's co-head of the investment banking division for Asia-Pacific ex-Japan as well as chairman of the financing group in Japan. He also sits on its IBD executive and operating committees.
The memo noted that the TMT sectors are evolving rapidly on a global basis and present “significant strategic opportunities” both for Goldman’s clients and for the firm.
Goldman was not the top bookrunner on Facebook’s record-breaking $16 billion IPO in 2012 but it did have a lead role on Twitter’s smaller, but significantly more successful, $2.1 billion listing last November. Like other major banks it has also worked hard to get mandated on Alibaba’s highly anticipated IPO and is widely viewed as one of the frontrunners for a top position once the Chinese internet giant decides to go public.
Goldman ranked second behind JP Morgan in Dealogic’s TMT revenue league table for 2013, which was an improvement from fourth in 2012 and third in 2011.
Dees will take over from George Lee, who will move on to become chairman of the TMT group as well as chief information officer for Goldman’s entire investment banking division.
“Working together with George Lee as chairman of TMT, [Dees and Noto] will bring the leadership, drive and global perspective to ensure that our franchise continues to deliver on this potential,” the memo said.
Dees has also been keen to return to the US after spending about a decade in Asia and the firm is known to have been trying to work out a new role for him for several months.
At the same time, the global nature of his new job could bring him back to China and Asia relatively frequently, which suggests that he may keep up some of his key client relationships in the region.
Westerman becomes sole IBD head
Matthew Westerman, who is currently co-head of investment banking for Asia ex-Japan, will become the sole head of this division following Dees departure, the bank said.
Goldman also announced on Tuesday that Jonathan Penkin, who is currently head of equity capital markets (ECM) for Asia ex-Japan, has been promoted to co-head of the financing group for Asia-Pacific ex-Japan.
He will share the leadership of the financing group with fellow co-head Andrea Vella, who is being promoted from his current role as head of credit capital markets (CCM) in Asia ex-Japan and the investment banking solutions teams in Asia-Pacific.
The financing group comprises all of Goldman’s capital markets departments and operates in close cooperation with other parts of the firm, including equities and fixed income, currency and commodities (FICC) to structure and execute some of the largest and most complex financing and risk-management transactions. The group was led by Dees between the end of 2007 and February 2012 when he was appointed to his current role as co-head of investment banking for the region.
According to the memo, which was signed by five of Goldman’s most senior partners, including vice chairman John Weinberg, Asia chairman Mark Schwartz and Asia ex-Japan president Ken Hitchner, Penkin’s and Vella’s combined leadership will ensure that the firm delivers “the full suite of financing solutions to an increasingly sophisticated client base”.
Penkin will continue to lead the bank’s successful ECM franchise as part of his new role, while Vella will continue to run the investment banking solutions teams in Asia-Pacific. However, Anthony Miller will also relocate from Sydney to Hong Kong to become head of investment banking solutions for Asia-Pacific ex-Japan.
Miller will work closely with members of the financing group to further integrate derivatives products into the broader financing dialogue that Goldman has with its clients, the memo said.
Meanwhile, Dominique Jooris will continue to look after CCM in Asia ex-Japan. Jooris is already head of this division, which is effectively the same as debt capital markets at other banks.
Bios
Dees joined Goldman in 1992 in the corporate finance group in New York and moved to the capital markets department in 1994. He was named a managing director in 2001 and partner in 2004.
He has been in Asia since 2004, initially in Tokyo where he was head of the Japan financing group and since the end of 2007 in Hong Kong.
Penkin joined Goldman as a managing director in 2006 and was named a partner in 2010. Vella joined as a partner in 2007 and relocated to Asia in 2010.
Miller is currently head of the financing group in Australia and New Zealand, a job that will be taken over on a shared basis by Chris Champion and Sean Walsh when Miller relocates to Hong Kong. Champion is currently head of CCM for Australia and New Zealand, while Walsh heads the ECM team in the same region. They will retain these roles alongside their new positions.
Miller joined the firm in 2001 and was named managing director in 2005. He became a partner following the full acquisition of the Australia and New Zealand businesses in 2011.
