President Spar to serve on board of Goldman Sachs

Barnard President Debora Spar has been elected to the Board of Directors of The Goldman Sachs Group, according to an email sent out by Barnard on Thursday afternoon.

“Before getting to Barnard, I spent 25 years of my life studying political economy. Goldman’s a firm that always been international…I think I have a lot to contribute along those lines,” Spar said.

The announcement was made at a Goldman Sachs meeting in London, coincidentally as Spar celebrated her 48th birthday. Spar will join Lois D. Juliber, a director of DuPont, an American chemical company, as one of two female board members, bringing the number of Goldman Sachs directors to 11, including 9 independent members. In a statement, Spar said that she looks forward to working with the industry, emphasizing the need for more varied approaches to fixing the economy.

“Diverse approaches to leadership and decision making are critical in the current financial climate, and I’m excited to bring my experience to the table, as a woman, as an educator, and as a lifelong scholar of business and the global economy,” she said.

Spar, a former Harvard Business School professor and author of "The Baby Business: How Money, Science and Politics Drive the Commerce of Conception," will serve as an independent director on the Audit, Risk, Compensation and Corporate Governance and Nominating committees.

Spar said that she looks forward to working with the industry, emphasizing the need for more varied approaches to fixing the economy.

“Diverse approaches to leadership and decision making are critical in the current financial climate, and I’m excited to bring my experience to the table, as a woman, as an educator, and as a lifelong scholar of business and the global economy,” she said.

Barnard Dean Avis Hinkson labeled the election an “exciting development” – a potential benefit for Barnard students.

“I have no doubt that this is a good thing for Barnard – having President Spar on such a prestigious board will draw attention to the College,” Hinkson wrote in an email. “We hope this will mean new opportunities for our students, in terms of networking, career recruiting and name-recognition.”

Spar said that she plans to do whatever possible to ensure opportunities for Barnard students.

“I’ll do whatever I can to make sure that Goldman continues to recruit at Barnard,” she added.

Spar has previously said she believes women can approach the financial crisis differently. On Jan. 4, 2009, Spar published an op-ed in the Washington Post titled "One Gender’s Crash" in which she attributed the financial crisis to poor leadership and risky behavior by “rich, white, middle-aged guys."

“The financial crisis has exposed a quieter but equally pressing concern: We need women in leadership positions not only because they can manage as well as men but because they manage differently than men; because they tend – over time and in the aggregate – to make different kinds of decisions and to accept and avoid different kinds of risk,” she wrote.

Spar told Spectator that it's important for women in the firm to see women on the board, adding that 24 hours after the announcement, she got “large numbers of emails from women at Goldman Sachs who’ve graduated from Barnard and Harvard Business School.”

But Vivian Taylor, Vice President for Community Development and Chief of Staff, said that Spar’s goal centered more on introducing newer approaches on Wall Street.

“President Spar has been vocal about the need for diverse perspectives among leaders of Wall Street firms, because it can make for better business practices,” Taylor wrote in an email. “This is an opportunity for her to be that fresh perspective in the board room.”

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Lloyd C. Blankfein said that Spar could provide a fresh perspective from which Goldman Sachs could benefit.

“Debora’s valuable and independent perspective on finance and business, emerging markets and recruitment, particularly of women, will be a tremendous asset for Goldman Sachs in the years ahead,” Blankfein said in the statement from Barnard.

Blankfein’s wife, Laura, is a Barnard College alumna and is listed on Barnard’s official website as a member of the board of trustees. Bloomberg reported that she resigned from that post on Wednesday. The Lloyd & Laura Blankfein Foundation donated $50,000 to Barnard in fiscal year 2010, which ended on Jan. 31, 2010, and $25,000 in the previous year.

According to Business Week, Barnard’s most recent public tax filing shows that Spar received $279,688 in salary and non-taxable benefits in the year ended June 30, 2009.
Independent members who served throughout the full year 2010 were granted Goldman Sachs stock worth $478,284, or $503,287 for the directors who served as committee chairs.

Gregory Brown, Barnard’s Chief Operating Officer, said that Barnard does not receive direct funding from Goldman Sachs but it does receive contributions from GS employees.

“Barnard has not received direct funding from Goldman Sachs in recent years, nor does it expect to receive direct funding,” Brown wrote in an email. “We do receive matching gifts from Goldman Sachs employee contributions to Barnard and like many other institutions, received donations through ‘GS Gives.’”

Ultimately, Spar said that her main goal is to contribute her knowledge of the international economy to the board.

“Hopefully, I will be able to bring to the board my knowledge of the global economy and in particular emerging markets,” she said in a telephone interview. “I also hope to be able to draw upon the subject I’ve studied throughout my career, which is the overlap between firms and government in the international economy.”