Waldron Set to Lead Goldman Sachs Amid Rise of Stablecoins and Tokenization

John Waldron is Goldman Sachs' likely next CEO, according to reports. If he takes over, it's expected to happen around the end of 2027 or in 2028, although Goldman says there's no definitive timeline.

Waldron has been president and chief operating officer (COO) since October 2018. He was added as a director by the bank's board in 2025 and received a retention bonus. Wells Fargo analyst Mike Mayo linked his expected rise to that award, saying 'They have been driving Goldman’s priorities together.'

Waldron has led one major initiative: developing OneGS 3.0, an AI-driven efficiency plan. The bank's proxy statement credits him with this achievement.

In March 2021, Waldron said client demand for Bitcoin was rising and that Goldman was seeking a compliant way to serve them. The bank had revived its crypto trading desk at the time and was considering a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). Today, Goldman's digital assets work has expanded into tokenization, with Bank of New York Mellon using their blockchain-based Digital Asset Platform (GS DAP) in July 2025.