Anthony Noto, the high-profile Goldman Sachs banker best known for taking Twitter public last November, is leaving the investment bank to join hedge fund Coatue Management as senior managing director, according to a memo sent today.
Goldman confirmed the memo, noting the former top-ranked analyst will transition this summer and be based in New York.
Coatue also confirmed the move.
“Anthony is a key addition to our private investing effort, helping us build on the momentum we have established through leading investments in Box.net, Snapchat, HotelTonight, Flipboard, Lyft and other transformative companies,” said Philippe Laffont, who launched the New York-based fund in 1999 with his brother Thomas, in an emailed statement.
“I look forward to building on my more than 15 years of experience and relationships with tech, media and telecom companies to identify attractive investment opportunities and to help entrepreneurs achieve their long-term goals,” said Noto, also in a statement. He has worked at Goldman Sachs since 2003, except for a short stint as CFO of the NFL.
Among Coatue’s funds are a $300 million fund aimed at high-growth, pre-IPO startups, which is managed by Thomas Laffont out of a relatively new office on Sand Hill Road in Silicon Valley.
It could use the investment help in tech, after it said last month that its flagship fund would return more than $2 billion in capital to investors due to the volatility of tech stocks and decline in value of its holdings.
He was named global co-head of the Technology, Media and Telecom investment banking group in 2011. In another shift in January, Goldman veteran Dan Dees was named co-head with Noto. He will be sole head of TMT now and, above him, Gene Sykes and George Lee will continue as co-chairmen of the banking unit.
In addition, Goldman named three co-COOs, who will be reporting to Dees: Simon Holden in EMEA; Nick Giovanni for the Internet sector; and Michael Ronen, will be responsible for the media and telecom mergers and acquisitions business in the Americas.
Despite those longtime leaders still in place, the departure by Noto will be a blow to the firm, since he was among the stars of the key division, whose main rivals are Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morgan for top tech deals.
Along with Twitter, whose stock has been tanking of late, Goldman was most recently part of a $12 billion financing for Apple, advised Microsoft on its purchase of Nokia and was one of the lead bankers for China’s Weibo IPO. It is also set to be involved in the Alibaba IPO.
Still, Goldman went for making lemonade out of lemons. “I am sorry to see him go on a personal level and on a commercial level, he is a force and an extraordinary talent,” said Dees. “We look forward to him being a client and he is leaving behind a team that has never been stronger.”
Here’s the internal memos on the changes:
Anthony Noto to Retire From Goldman Sachs
After 13 years of distinguished service, Anthony Noto, global co-head of the Technology, Media and Telecom Group (TMT), has decided to retire from the firm.
Anthony joined Goldman Sachs in 1999 in Global Investment Research. He was named managing director in 2003 and partner in 2004. Anthony was the top-ranked analyst in the Internet sector by Institutional Investor magazine from 2003 to 2007 and headed our Communications, Media and Entertainment research team. In October 2010, he rejoined the firm as co-head of the Global Media Group for TMT after serving as the National Football League’s executive vice president and chief financial officer for nearly three years. In September 2011, Anthony was appointed global co-head of TMT.
Over the course of his career, Anthony has made a significant contribution in growing our TMT franchise. He has been a trusted advisor to a number of our clients and played a central role in several industry leading transactions.
We are grateful to Anthony for his many contributions to the firm and wish him well in his future professional endeavors.
Richard J. Gnodde
David Solomon
John S. Weinberg
Simon Holden, Nick Giovanni and Michael Ronen to Become Co-Chief Operating Officers of the Global Technology, Media and Telecom Group
We are pleased to announce that Simon Holden, Nick Giovanni and Michael Ronen will become co-chief operating officers of the Global Technology, Media and Telecom Group (TMT). Simon, Nick and Michael will work closely with Dan Dees, global head of TMT, as well as with Gene Sykes and George Lee, co-chairmen of TMT, to help drive our TMT franchise around the world.
Simon is head of TMT in EMEA and global head of the Telecom sector. He joined the firm in 2000, was named managing director in 2002 and partner in 2006.
Nick is global head of the Internet sector. He joined the firm in 1998, was named managing director in 2008 and partner in 2012.
Michael is responsible for the Media and Telecom mergers and acquisitions business in the Americas. He joined the firm in 1998, was named managing director in 2006 and partner in 2012
Please join us in congratulating Simon, Nick and Michael on their expanded roles and wishing them continued success.
Richard J. Gnodde
David Solomon
John S. Weinberg