Pink Lloyd

4 May 2010 By Rob Cox Follow @rob1cox

The lost opportunity in not separating the chairman and CEO roles when Lloyd Blankfein took over in 2006 is now becoming apparent. As rivals like Citi have shown, a nonexecutive chairman helps provide air cover for the CEO it’s not too late for Goldman.

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Warren Buffett defended Goldman Sachs chairman and chief executive Lloyd Blankfein at Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting in Omaha this past weekend.

"There's really no reason to think about somebody else running Goldman," Buffett said. When asked about pressures for Blankfein to resign amid a Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit alleging fraud by Goldman, Buffett's righthand man Charles Munger said: "There are plenty of CEOs I'd like to see gone in America, and Lloyd Blankfein is not one of them."

In an interview with Charlie Rose, Blankfein admitted the investigation revealed "some emails where some people were projecting I would say, at best indifference, and at worst a callousness" towards clients. He said this was not representative of the firm's culture or principles, and would take steps to ensure the highest standards are followed.

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