Karen Cook (banker)

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Karen Cook
Born1952/1953(age 68–69) [1]
London, England
NationalityBritish
Alma mater Alliance Manchester Business School
OccupationBanker
TitleChair of the investment banking division of Goldman Sachs
Spouse(s)Patrick Drayton
Children6

Karen Cook (born 1952/1953) is a British banker. She is also the chair of the investment banking division of Goldman Sachs.

Contents

Early life

Karen Cook was born and raised in London, the only child of a car mechanic father. [2]

Career

Cook started her career in the Foreign Office, but found it "too bureaucratic and slow". [2] She then earned an MBA from Alliance Manchester Business School, and joined First National Bank of Chicago. She moved to Schroders in 1988. [2]

Cook joined Goldman Sachs in 1999, as head of UK investment banking, and became a partner in 2000. [2]

In 2004, she became a director of Tesco. [1]

In 2015, Cook became co-chair of Goldman Sachs' global investment banking division. [3]

Cook has been called the "Queen of M&A", having advised BG Group on its planned £47 billion takeover by Shell. [3]

Personal life

Cook is married to fellow banker Patrick Drayton, and they have six children. [1]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Armitstead, Louise (12 September 2004). "Women take one step forward and one back". moloneysearch.com. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Turner, Nick Kostov and Matt. "Karen Cook: Goldman's queen of M&A". fnlondon.com. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  3. 1 2 Hosking, Patrick (8 July 2015). "'Queen of M&A' set to spearhead investment at Goldman" . Retrieved 9 August 2018 via www.thetimes.co.uk.