The Most Powerful Women in Banking, No. 25, Kim Posnett, Goldman Sachs

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Kim Posnett's career has long been on the rise at storied Goldman Sachs . So it was fitting that to mark her two decades at the firm, she ascended to even more rarefied territory: co-head of investment banking.

But before that January 2025 crowning, it was her previous role as head of global technology, media & telecommunications group that groomed her for the even bigger chair. That put her at the center of major events like Twitter's $44 billion sale to Elon Musk, and Silver Lake's $25 billion taking-private of Endeavor. High-stakes deals like that helped cement the firm's status as the #1 advisory in worldwide, announced and completed M&A for the year. (Posnett is ranked on her prior role as global head of the technology, media and telecommunications group, per American Banker's methodology requiring that a woman be in her role for at least one full year.)

It is perhaps an unlikely role to play, especially for someone who headed to Hollywood briefly, after studying history and theater at Yale. But once she got her Wharton MBA and landed at Goldman as an associate in 2005, her ascent became meteoric.

Think of Posnett—who appeared on American Banker's 2024 "Most Powerful Women in Banking's Women to Watch" list, which certainly proved prescient—as the ultimate deal whisperer, managing big personalities and leveraging her extensive network to get deals across the finish line.

That conscientious relationship-building is a kind of "superpower," said colleague George Lee, co-head of the Goldman Sachs Global Institute. "She has excelled throughout her career in the relational parts of our business—developing friendships, winning trust and investing in the success of others," Lee said. "She is someone who both exhibits and inspires loyalty."

Posnett's biggest challenge this past year: "The volatility and unpredictability of the macro environment," she said. "A big part of my job is to worry about things that have a small probability of happening, to make sure we're prepared to navigate anything that comes our way."

Taking on that worry is a heavy responsibility, but it does come with its rewards: The firm booked $2.19 billion in investment banking fees in 2025's second quarter, 26% higher than the same quarter in 2024.

As part of Goldman's next generation of leaders, the 48-year-old mom of three is particularly attuned to the tectonic shift of AI, which is reshaping the industry at such an astonishing pace. Indeed, she sees part of her job as championing "innovation and resilience" at the firm, to ensure Goldman is out front in maximizing what AI can do.

Outside of the firm's hallways, Posnett harbors a particular interest in health issues—as a board director at Every Mother Counts, a nonprofit focused on maternal health needs, and as a member of the Dean's Council at Weill Cornell Medicine. That perhaps sheds some light on her corporate role as the consummate deal doctor, making sure that those in her care survive and thrive.