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

Karen Cook
Born1952 or 1953 (age 70–71)[1]
London, England
NationalityBritish
Alma materAlliance Manchester Business School
OccupationBanker
TitleChair of the investment banking division of Goldman Sachs
SpousePatrick Drayton
Children6

Early life edit

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

Career edit

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 edit

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

References edit

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