Goldman Sachs hires Uber tech executive to run consumer bank after string of defections

Goldman Sachs has a new head of its retail banking division.

The firm lured Peeyush Nahar, an Uber technology executive and 14-year veteran of Amazon, to take over the role vacated when Omer Ismail left in February, Goldman told employees Monday in an internal memo.

The move should shore up concerns over leadership at Goldman’s fledgling consumer division. The bank created Marcus in 2016 to make its first foray into the consumer banking realm. Yet just as the division began to pick up steam, garnering billions of dollars in deposits and rolling out new services like personal finance tools and an automated investment tool, it was struck with defections.

After Ismail and a top deputy left to join Walmart‘s new fintech start-up, a string of other executive departures followed, including the chief financial officer and head of product for the consumer bank, which includes the Marcus brand and a growing stable of partnerships including the Apple Card.

At Uber, Nahar led a global engineering division across fintech, insurance, payments and infrastructure, according to the Goldman memo, which was reported on earlier by Dow Jones. He begins at Goldman next month.

“Peeyush will lead the business in its next phase of growth, helping drive forward our commitment to our customers and make us the place they go to manage their finances,” the bank said.

Here’s the memo:

May 17, 2021
Peeyush Nahar Joins Goldman Sachs as a Partner and Global Head of the Consumer Business

We are pleased to announce that Peeyush Nahar will join Goldman Sachs as a partner and global head of the Consumer business on June 1. In this role, Peeyush will drive forward our ambitious plans to build the leading digital consumer banking platform and empower tens of millions of customers to meet their financial goals.

When we started the Consumer business in 2016, we recognized there was an opportunity to disrupt financial services and make a meaningful difference in consumers’ lives. We are proud of the incredible progress the team has made to establish this business as a growth engine for the firm as well as a transformative force in the industry. Peeyush will lead the business in its next phase of growth, helping drive forward our commitment to our customers and make us the place they go to manage their finances.

With more than 20 years of experience in technology, financial services and retail, Peeyush has been at the forefront of building some of the most innovative businesses across industries. He shares our passion for customer-centricity and has a track record of starting with the customer and working backwards to address real customer needs. Throughout his career, he has brought together cross-functional teams and leveraged technology to transform industries, create successful franchises and deliver cutting-edge products and experiences. We are excited to bring his diverse experiences into the firm as we scale the Consumer business.

Most recently, Peeyush was vice president of Technology at Uber, where he led a global engineering team across fintech, safety, insurance, risk, payments and infrastructure services. Prior to Uber, Peeyush spent 14 years at Amazon, where he was a leader in using technology to build scalable businesses including Amazon’s business-to-business marketplace, Amazon Lending and the machine learning platform for Alexa.

To get to know Peeyush better, listen to this week’s Office Hours podcast episode. Please join us in welcoming Peeyush to the firm and wishing him success in his new role.

Tucker York
Stephanie Cohen
Harit Talwar