Ed Forst, Former Harvard VP, Leaves Goldman

Former University vice president Edward C. Forst ’82 will retire from his position as co-head of investment management at Goldman Sachs, according to internal memos obtained by news organizations last week.

According to the New York Times, insiders speculate that Forst’s departure was a culmination of building tension within the investment management division, including Forst’s alleged failure to attend an important meeting with a client.

During Forst’s one-year stint at Harvard, he worked with University departments and the Harvard Management Company to manage budgets and investments during the worst of the 2008 financial crisis.

Forst became the University’s first executive vice president, responsible for streamlining the management of administration, human resources, and finance.

He helped to restructure Harvard’s investments to reduce risk in the endowment, and sought to scale back expenditures across the University.

“Ed has made important contributions to Harvard’s work, from stem cell research to university finances to financial aid. I have benefitted from his counsel both at Harvard and as an engaged alumnus,” University president Drew G. Faust wrote in an email.

Three weeks after Forst arrived at Harvard, then Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson asked him to help craft the $700 billion dollar bailout for struggling financial institutions. Forst agreed to advise Paulson while continuing to serve as vice president at Harvard.

But in 2009, Forst left the University to become global co-head of Goldman Sach’s investment management division.

Forst has not publicly discussed future job plans. He did not respond to a request for comment on Sunday.

According to memos signed by Goldman CEO Lloyd C. Blankfein ’75, Eric S. Lane—an internal hire—will replace Forst, who plans to retire at the end of the year.

Even after leaving the University, Forst maintained a presence at Harvard, participating in both the Committee on Student Excellence and Opportunity, a body that seeks to improve financial aid, and the Committee on University Resources, a group of top-level donors.

Forst’s successor at Harvard, the current executive vice president, is Katherine N. Lapp.