A World Bank executive for the past five years, exinvestment banker Jeffrey Goldstein always knew he'd return to working on deals in the private sector. Last month the 48-year-old did just that, joining the New York office of Hellman & Friedman, a San Franciscobased private equity firm with more than $8 billion under management.
Goldstein, who most recently served as the World Bank's CFO, is reuniting with two old friends. Brian Powers, Hellman's CEO, and Patrick Healy, head of the firm's London office, worked with Goldstein during his 16-year stint at James D. Wolfensohn Inc., the investment firm founded in 1981 by the World Bank's current president. Goldstein was one of Wolfensohn's earliest hires, joining the firm in 1983, and he followed his mentor to the World Bank in 1999.
At Hellman & Friedman, Goldstein sees a culture similar to that of his old firm: collegial, collaborative and globally integrated. "One of the things I really like about Hellman & Friedman is that it's not a firm that functions in silos," says Goldstein. "It's an integrated partnership of talented people operating in different locations -- very much like the business I had the pleasure of participating in when I was at Wolfensohn."
