Goldman Sachs has hired Rishi Sunak, the former UK Prime Minister, as a Senior Advisor. It is an announcement that is expected to see Sunak return to the financial industry after his departure as a political leader following the 2024 general election.
Sunak began his working life in the financial sector, having also previously worked at Goldman Sachs. He initially became an intern at the firm during the summer of 2000 and served as an analyst there from 2001 to 2004. As part of his new role, Sunak will provide advice on international economic trends, finance, and geopolitics to his clients. He will also play a role by supporting internal development programmes through interacting with teams in the foreign offices.
David Solomon, the Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs, was pleased with the appointment of Sunak as Prime Minister, given his extensive background in international economic policies. The interest of Sunak is likely to attract spheres connected with macroeconomic predictions and planning in finance
Sunak held several high-level positions in the UK government before returning to the private sector. He was Prime Minister from October 2022 to July 2024. Before that, he held the position of Chancellor of the Exchequer, where he oversaw economic strategies, the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the post-Brexit transition period.
In 2015, Sunak entered the political scene as a Member of Parliament in Richmond (Yorks). Later, he became a minister of state, as Chief Secretary to the Treasury and at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. His previous experience also entails working as a Parliamentary Private Secretary in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. In his political career before becoming prime minister, Sunak paid great attention to economic stability, the balance of public finance development, and innovation-based growth.
Sunak holds a degree in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics from Oxford University and an MBA, for which he received a Fulbright Scholarship to study at Stanford University. He remains an academic associate of both universities, serving as an advisor and honorary fellow. These are his appearances as part of the World Leader Circle of the Blavatnik School of Government in Oxford, and he is also a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford.
The fact that he has returned to Goldman Sachs suggests a broader trend of former government officials joining the financial industry as advisers, leveraging their expertise in policy and strategy to apply it effectively in the financial sector, drawing on their government experience.