DALLAS - Goldman, Sachs & Co.'s Ann Kaplan is leaving the municipal bond side of the business to pursue a new endeavor inside the firm, officials confirmed late last week.
She is being replaced by two long-time managing directors in the firm's municipal bond business, Richard Kolman and Frank Ingrassia, who will take on the roles of co-heads of municipal finance.
Kaplan, who has been with the firm 23 years, is stepping out of her role as the head of the municipal department to take a new job in private wealth management, with a group specifically targeting highly successful women. She has been head of the municipal bond department since December 1998, when Michael D. McCarthy stepped out of that role.
Initially, Kaplan was co-head of the municipal department with Connie Duckworth, but late last year, Kaplan took on sole responsibility for the department when Duckworth took a role focusing on e-commerce projects for the firm.
For a while, Duckworth had been active in development of MuniGroup, one of the firm's e-commerce ventures devoted to municipal bonds, while continuing to co-head the municipal department at Goldman. She left to focus exclusively on MuniGroup, which was merged in August with BondDesk, another e-commerce venture involving Goldman and a number of other firms.
The promotion of Kolman and Ingrassia, announced to the staff late last week, returns to the department a management structure headed by two partners who will jointly oversee public finance and sales and trading, according to a company spokeswoman. Ingrassia has been more active on the banking side -- especially on public power deals -- and Kolman on the underwriting, but at Goldman, such distinctions don't matter in managing the department.
"The way we run our business, we don't divide and conquer," the spokeswoman said. "They will be co-heads."
Kaplan has been an active member of The Bond Market Association, and this year is serving as chairman of the association's municipal securities division. Because it is so close to the end of Kaplan's term, which ends Dec. 31, the association doesn't expect to replace her, according to Heather Ruth, The Bond Market Association's president and chief executive officer.
Ruth noted that in her new role, Kaplan wouldn't really be leaving the industry entirely.
"She has been a tremendous asset to the association," said Ruth. "It's a great opportunity and recognition of what she has done. Having an opportunity to start something new and exciting is a real opportunity."
Kolman has also been active in the association, having been involved in a 22-member task force that earlier this month proposed a first-ever standardized agreement the underwriting firms can use to electronically form and manage underwriting syndicates for competitive deals. The agreement is designed to streamline the process of forming and managing underwriting syndicates.
Beyond replacing Kaplan in her role as head of the municipal department, Goldman plans to maintain its commitment to the municipal bond department and the development of the e-commerce side of the business, according to the spokeswoman. The firm flatly denied market rumors that it laid off several investment bankers, salespeople, and traders last week.
