Goldman Names Ben Frost Investment Banking Chairman, Appoints Consumer & Retail Co-Heads

Goldman Sachs elevated Ben Frost to chairman of investment banking as part of a leadership reshuffle that hands day-to-day control of its consumer & retail franchise to two new co-heads. The move reallocates client coverage responsibilities and could reshape reporting lines, deal teams, and promotion pathways across the investment bank.

Frost had been co-head of Goldman’s global Consumer & Retail Group and joined the firm as a partner in 2018. In his new role he will retain a focus on consumer and retail businesses while taking on broader client responsibilities across the firm’s investment-banking franchise. Cosmo Roe and Milan Hasecic will run the global consumer & retail group as co-heads, assuming primary operational leadership of the sector.

The change, announced Jan. 21, 2026 and communicated in internal memos, is significant for bankers who work on consumer and retail coverage and for teams that partner with them across product groups. Elevating a sector leader to a chairman role typically centralizes high-level client oversight and strategy while delegating front-line origination and execution to the co-heads. That split can alter who signs off on mandates, which teams get primary pitches, and how credits and fees are allocated on multi-product deals.

For junior and midlevel bankers, the appointment will affect who they pitch into for staffing and advancement. Co-head structures often expand the number of senior sponsors available to mentor deal leads, but they may also create short-term uncertainty as new coverage maps are drawn and responsibilities redistributed between Roe and Hasecic. For product partners in M&A, ECM, DCM, and leveraged finance, the shift means refreshed coordination models for client teams and potential changes to who owns client relationships versus product execution.

Institutionally, the move signals a continued emphasis on the consumer sector as a strategic growth area for Goldman. Frost’s retention of a consumer focus while assuming a franchise-level chair role suggests the firm wants continuity in sector expertise while strengthening cross-franchise client engagement. That dual remit can accelerate cross-selling but requires clear internal governance to avoid overlap and to keep deal execution efficient.

Employees should expect follow-up internal guidance on reporting lines, deal allocation frameworks, and compensation impacts as the new leadership settles in. For teams that cover consumer and retail clients, day-to-day managers will be key to interpreting how this leadership change translates into practice. Over the coming quarters, watchers inside the firm will look for shifts in pitch activity, leadership on major mandates, and any adjustments to the promotion pipeline that reflect the new structure.