Goldman Sachs' South East Asia head is retiring by the end of 2012.

Brooks Entwistle, partner and chairman for the South East Asia business, has been with the company for the last 20 years. He joined Goldman Sachs in 1989.

Entwistle is better known for his key role in the establishment of the bank's on-the-ground business in India after the company parted ways with its then joint venture partner Kotak Mahindra. He was country head of India in 2006 and in March 2011 relocated to Singapore to become the South East Asia chairman and head of investment banking for the region. 

Entwistle will not be totally leaving the bank and will stay on as advisory director after he retires from his post.

The decision to step down comes as Goldman Sachs trims its global partner numbers in an effort to reduce costs. The bank has cut 31 partners from its roster over the past nine months, most of whom are US-based. To-date, Goldman Sachs records around 407 partners globally.