Goldman Sachs names new global, EMEA M&A heads

LONDON: Goldman Sachs has promoted Gregg Lemkau to jointly head its global mergers and acquisitions (M&A) team and Gilberto Pozzi to lead its M&A coverage in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

Lemkau, head of M&A for EMEA and Asia Pacific, will work alongside Gene Sykes who has been sole head of the division since Yoel Zaoui's departure last year, a spokeswoman said, confirming the contents of memos seen by Reuters.

Pozzi, who has been co-head of Goldman's global consumer retail group since 2010, will retain responsibility for many of his clients in the sector and take on a broader role across countries and industries in the EMEA region.

Goldman retained its position in 2012 as no. 1 M&A adviser globally, working on 427 deals worth $717.6 billion, with a 27.7 percent market share, data compiled by Thomson Reuters showed.

The total value of deals announced so far this year is $202.6 billion, down 3 percent on the same time a year ago, Thomson Reuters data showed, following a sluggish 2012 which saw M&A deals rise just 2 percent to $2.6 trillion.

Lemkau, who became partner in 2002, previously held positions as global co-head of the Technology, Media and Telecom Group (TMT) and served as chief operating officer for the Investment Banking Division (IBD).

Pozzi, who was named partner in 2008, will be replaced by FX de Mallmann who will become co-head of the global consumer retail group alongside Kathy Elsesser. He will also continue in his role as head of Investment Banking Services (IBS) in EMEA.