Goldman Sachs Names New Asia-Pacific (Ex-Japan) President

Tom Burroughes

3 July 2013

Goldman Sachs has appointed long-standing senior manager Ken Hitchner as president of the firm in the Asia-Pacific ex-Japan region with day-to-day responsibility for all of the firm's businesses in the region. He takes over from David Ryan, who is retiring from the post.

Hitchner will be based in Hong Kong and work with Mark Schwartz, chairman of Goldman Sachs Asia-Pacific, and Masa Mochida, president of Goldman Sachs Japan, the US-listed firm said in a statement today.

A senior investment banker, Hitchner is currently global head of the healthcare banking group and global co-head of the technology, media and telecom group. He joined Goldman Sachs in 1991 in the corporate finance department. He was named managing director in 2000 and partner in 2002.

Prior to joining the firm, Hitchner was a lieutenant commander and naval aviator in the US Navy. He is an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School and a trustee and member of the board of Meridian Health Systems and Monmouth University. He is also a member of the BioFrontiers Institute Advisory Board at the University of Colorado.

“Asia-Pacific is critical to the firm’s global strategy and we remain committed to investing in this region to support our clients,” Lloyd Blankfein, CEO and chairman of Goldman Sachs, said in a statement.

Hitchner's appointment becomes effective later this year upon the retirement of David Ryan, also announced today. Ryan joined Goldman Sachs in 1992 as a financial analyst in the investment banking division and moved to Hong Kong in 2005, and then relocated to Singapore in 2008. He was named head of the investment banking division in Asia-Pacific ex-Japan in 2010 and assumed his existing role in 2011. On his retirement, Ryan will become a senior director at Goldman Sachs, the firm said.