Lloyd Blankfein rose from the ranks of the commodity futures business to the top of one of the largest investment banks in the world. Blankfein, who graduated from Harvard with a law degree in 1978, joined J. Aron’s currency and commodities division in 1982, shortly before it was acquired by Goldman Sachs. Over the succeeding years he rose steadily, first in the firm’s commodities division, then as head of the firm’s trading activities. He was named partner in 1988, head of the J. Aron currency and commodities division in 1994, and co-head of the Fixed Income, Currency and Commodities Division upon its formation in 1997. He was named a member of the firm’s management committee in 1999, vice chairman in 2002, and has been the president and chief operating officer of Goldman Sachs since January 2004. The FI was fortunate to have him on its board of directors from 1992 to 1995. His keen mind and deep understanding of the importance of futures to the overall financial services industry was a tremendous benefit in helping shape the FIA’s policy on many issues.
