Stephen Vines

The View | DJ like Goldman’s next CEO, paint like Churchill, golf like a deal-maker – a good leader has hobbies

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Stephen Vines says David Solomon’s unusual pastime shows how having a life away from work need not be a detriment to success, whereas Elon Musk’s thoughtless comments in the aftermath of the Thai soccer team’s rescue show that a narrow focus on work can be bad for business

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David Solomon, president and chief operating officer of Goldman Sachs, will succeed Lloyd Blankfein as CEO on October 1. Photo: Bloomberg

Stephen Vines

Published: 4:00pm, 25 Jul 2018Updated: 10:47pm, 25 Jul 2018

DJ D-Sol is better known in banking circles as David Solomon, the high flier who is about to become Goldman Sachs’ next chief executive. Aside from moonlighting as an electronic dance disc jockey, Solomon is partial to adventurous sports, collects fine wines and has a lively interest in gastronomy. In other words, he has quite a life outside banking.

Yet Solomon is also regarded as being full on when it comes to the banking business, so has clearly found a way of having a varied life away from his desk.

Is this a good thing? Are corporate leaders, or any other kind of leaders, likely to do their jobs better if they have other lives, lives that are very different from their day jobs?

Clearly Goldman’s board must have thought that Solomon’s range of interests were no bar to his selection as chief executive. But in the intense world of finance, it is not uncommon to come across senior managers who boast about how long they stay in the office and proclaim their ability to stay focused on the job to the exclusion of all else.

Watch: Goldman Sachs’ next CEO is a part-time DJ

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