University Names Goldman Sachs Executive to New VP Post

The University this morning announced the creation of a new position, executive vice president, and the name of the person appointed to the job: Edward C. Forst ’82...

The University this morning announced the creation of a new position, executive vice president, and the name of the person appointed to the job: Edward C. Forst ’82, currently global head of the investment management division for Goldman, Sachs & Co. and a member of the firm's management committee.

Harvard's decentralized structure means the president and provost have a large number of direct reports: the deans of 11 individual faculties, plus seven vice presidents for the functions of central administration. The new post will reduce this burden. Three University vice presidents will report directly to Forst: Sally Zeckhauser, vice president for administration; vice president for finance, a vacant post being filled on an acting basis by Daniel Shore; and Marilyn Hausammann, vice president for human resources. The University's chief information officer, Daniel Moriarty, will report to Forst with reference to administrative technology, but will continue to report to the provost on the academic side of his duties.

As "the principal ranking operating officer at the University," Forst, who joins Harvard on September 1, will also serve as "senior adviser to the president" and lead "the development of administrative capacity in new areas that cross school boundaries or traditional administrative units," according to the University news release. And he will serve as a member of the board of the Harvard Management Company, which manages the University's endowment.

President Drew Faust said Forst brings to the job "deep experience with a large, complex, and global organization, a proven track record in managing the functions that will be central to his new role, and an outstanding reputation for his collegial and effective leadership style."

Forst was elected a partner at Goldman Sachs in 1998 and has held several senior roles with the company. The Harvard news release quoted him as saying, "The decision to leave Goldman Sachs was an extremely difficult one. ...The rare opportunity to work with the outstanding scholars, educators, students, and professionals at Harvard was compelling. I care deeply about the University's mission and that commitment has only grown since my first day as a student."

Forst served as co-chair of the reunion gift committee for his twentieth and twenty-fifth Harvard reunions, and as vice chair for his fifteenth reunion. Since 2005, he has co-chaired the University Committee on Student Excellence and Opportunity, which engages with all Harvard schools to determine the most effective ways to attract top students and reduce financial barriers to their enrollment.

He also holds an M.B.A. degree from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Read the official announcement in the University Gazette.

Sub topics

You might also like

Plans for a Faculty Senate Move Forward

And annual awards for excellence in teaching, advising, mentoring, and scholarship

An Original Magna Carta, Hidden in Plain Sight

A rare original surfaces at Harvard at an “almost providential” moment. 

Harvard Discloses Top Administrator and Investment Manager Compensation

Investment pay drops—top six managers’ earnings total a little more than $25 million

Most popular

Rebecca Henderson: Does Capitalism Need to be Reimagined?

How to reform capitalism to confront climate change and extreme inequality, with economist and McArthur University Professor Rebecca Henderson

The New Gender Gaps

What to do as men and boys fall behind

Danielle Allen Debates Far-Right Blogger Curtis Yarvin

Popular monarchist debates Allen on democracy.

Explore More From Current Issue

The Franklin Stove—A Historical Climate Change Adaptation

Historian Joyce E. Chaplin reinterprets an early era of invention, industrialization, and climate challenge

Short Headlines from Harvard's History

Seniors’ uncertain future c. 1940, Harvard Law Review news, and more

Harvard Wireless club

Student ham enthusiasts turn back time.