Goldman Sachs names India investment banking co-chiefs, Hong Kong coverage head

By Selena Li

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Goldman Sachs has appointed Sudarshan Ramakrishnan and Devarajan Nambakam as co-heads of investment banking in India, the latest Wall Street bank to bolster its leadership amid a rise in dealmaking opportunities in the country.

Ramakrishnan and Nambakam, previously the bank’s co-chief operating officers in India, now report to India Chairman and Chief Executive Sonjoy Chatterjee, Goldman said in a statement on Monday.

They are tasked with managing Goldman’s broader investment banking strategy, driving growth across industry groups and deepening and broadening client relationships.

The firm also announced that Sunil Khaitan has joined as head of financing in India. Reuters reported in April that Goldman hired Khaitan from Bank of America.

Kamna Sahni will meanwhile join the bank in Mumbai as an executive director at the end of the month.

Ramakrishnan joined Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong in 2004 before moving to Mumbai three years later. He has been responsible for client coverage across technology, media & telecom, consumer & retail, metals & mining and some large conglomerate clients.

Nambakam, who worked in London for four years before joining the Mumbai investment banking team in 2010, has covered clients across the financial sponsors, natural resources, healthcare, industrials and infrastructure sectors.

Goldman has also named Jacky Leung head of Hong Kong coverage, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters and confirmed by a spokesperson.

Leung’s appointment comes after the departure of veteran banker Stephen Wong, who is joining venture capital firm Valley Capital Partners, according to his LinkedIn post.

Wong was most recently Goldman’s chairman of Hong Kong investment banking and co-head of real estate for Asia ex-Japan.

Jie Wei has assumed sole responsibility for real estate investment banking in Asia Ex-Japan, the memo said.

Both Leung and Wei and will join the bank’s Asia Ex-Japan investment banking operating committee.