It's just asking you to sign up but you don't have to Spoiler: Article David Dase knew moving to Atlanta wouldn't be easy. The Goldman Sachs partner had spent much of his nearly 25 years at the firm orchestrating deals in the US's busiest financial hubs — New York and San Francisco — where the investment bank was entrenched in corporate boardrooms of the world's most important companies. Atlanta, by comparison, was unmapped territory. The bank had a small presence of wealth managers and specialty lenders, but no bankers on the ground developing relationships with the region's extensive yet less visible roster of companies. "You're starting from scratch," Dase told Business Insider. "It takes a lot of time and investment." But Dase wasn't being banished from Goldman's power centers; on the contrary, he was being entrusted to lead the charge on a new initiative that Goldman has been telling investors will help generate $500 million in new investment-banking revenue. In December 2016, the bank announced it was shaking up its approach to investment banking, opening up offices and deploying partners to previously undercovered regional hubs: Atlanta, Dallas, Seattle, and Toronto. This gambit and others — like additional senior hires and the use of tech to engage clients — is expected to increase Goldman's investment-banking client base by 10%, to more than 9,000 by 2020 and to contribute $500 million of the $5 billion in new revenue the bank is chasing. Dase — a veteran technology, media, and telecom investment banker — was tapped to build out the bank's presence in the booming Atlanta region, a job he readily accepted. "I just thought it was fundamentally a really exciting opportunity to build a business in the Southeast and to take the Goldman platform and extend it," Dase said. "Getting immersed in the community seemed like a challenge and a lot of fun." Why Atlanta? Goldman Sachs It's just one of the locations where Goldman is expanding its presence, but the opportunity in the US's Southeast is clear: The region clocks in at a gross domestic product of $4.1 trillion, the largest of any of the eight US regions,according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. That's larger than any country in Europe, including Germany. Florida and Georgia ranked fifth and sixth in state GDP growth in 2016, with South Carolina and Tennessee cracking the top 15 as well. Beyond the household names like Coca-Cola, Delta, and Home Depot, there are dozens of massive enterprises for Goldman to sink its claws into. "There are over 75 S&P 500 companies in the Southeast," Dase said. "Many we have strong relationships with, but there are many, quite frankly, where our relationships aren't as strong." The region is home to about 450 public companies with a market value of more than $500 million by Goldman Sachs' estimates. "We feel that by being in the region, we will be able to significantly expand the number of companies we are covering," Dase said. "For companies where our relationships are not as strong, we want to get in front of them more frequently so we can improve these relationships over time." Atlanta, home to the world's most traveled airport, is the business epicenter of the Southeast and the ideal headquarters for Dase and his team to start advancing their coverage. Hala Moddelmog, who was president of Church's Chicken in the 1990s and Arby's from 2010 to 2013 — two Atlanta-based fast-food empires — said Goldman's announced expansion in Atlanta didn't come as a shock. "I'm thrilled, but I wasn't surprised given all the growth that's going on in Atlanta," said Moddelmog, now the CEO of the Metro Atlanta Chamber. "A lot of things have come together in the past few years to put us on a growth trajectory." Yes, the city is home to 26 Fortune 1000 companies. But it has also become a financial-technology hub — the chamber says Georgia's fintech companies contribute $72 billion in annual revenue— as well as a popular location for large companies to expand their tech and digital operations. GE and Honeywell chose Atlanta for their new digital headquarters in 2016, adding more than 1,000 high-paying jobs combined. "We've really had a great last four to five years in terms of a few trends that have worked really well for us," Moddelmog said. "And one of those trends is becoming more of a tech hub and really getting known for that." A key driver of Atlanta's attractiveness to tech companies is its reputation for higher education, especially for churning out skilled engineers. Georgia Tech graduates more engineers than MIT and Carnegie Mellon combined, and more women and black engineers than any other university, according to Moddelmog. This economic driver wasn't lost on Goldman Sachs. "Part of the juice feeding the job growth in Atlanta and in the Southeast in general are the incredibly strong education institutions which are graduating students which are highly attractive to employers," Dase said. "I don't think companies would be investing so heavily in the Southeast if there weren't so many bright, young, eager, college-educated kids who had a desire to live in these growth markets." 'He attends everything' But, as Dase noted, he was effectively starting from scratch. With the breadth of opportunities in Atlanta and the broader Southeast, where do you begin? David Dase. Goldman Sachs Relationships are paramount in investment banking, so Dase immediately hit the ground, meeting local leaders in business and education, attending events, and enmeshing himself in the community. Whether it was taking part in a seminar on artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies with other area executives, hanging out at a barbecue, or attending the opening of a new play, Dase made his presence felt, and he says he and the company were met with "an enormous receptivity." His efforts didn't go unnoticed. Shortly after he arrived, Dase reached out to the Metro Atlanta Chamber to start networking, connecting with Moddelmog and others. "He's out and about — he attends everything," Moddelmog said. "He has just really gone all-in to get to know people in the community." She added: "I would hold Dave Dase up as the best example of somebody coming into the Atlanta market. He's done it exactly the way Atlanta likes to have their new CEOs come in." Dase also regularly communicates with the regional heads in Dallas, Seattle, and Toronto to discuss what strategies and ideas are working. He's also in frequent contact with the rest of Goldman Sachs' team in New York and across the country. "We're not sitting here on an island by ourselves," Dase said. So far, the initiative appears to be paying dividends. Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein last week highlighted the client-coverage push in his annual investor letter, noting that it had resulted in more than 75 new mandates across a variety of industry groups and that the firm was 30% of the way toward reaching its goal of covering 1,000 new clients. Goldman Sachs hasn't provided any specific revenue figures or deal examples stemming from the regional offices, but Dase's team is hiring to add to five full-time bankers who Dase said "are covering over 50 new companies and strengthening relationships with many of our existing clients." "Those are 50 companies we weren't covering before," he added.
I wonder if the complete failure of the light rail in downtown is a factor in all of this. The city has been burned once and may be hesitant to invest several billion dollars in light rail on the beltline when we have so many major needs to address as it is.
MARTA expansion and light rail have to happen at some point though if Atlanta wants to keep growing though. I don't know much about the history of light rail proposals for the city, but building anything is probably going to take an extremely long time and it seems like the city and metro area are dragging their asses (much of which is the fault of the Cobb County fucks) as long possible.
Im sure that will be the scapegoat. But it would be another misguided attempt to blame Transit as the failure, when the real failure were the humans who forced through a half-baked, half-assed attempt at Light Rail. The light rail initial phase should have been broader in scope (the $ wasnt there for that), and should have been placed in its own dedicated lane (the $ wasn't there for that, perhaps an impossibility downtown)). Light Rail would work, it just needs to be properly executed. And continuing to punt on a necessary component of our transit infrastructure, rail, is only going to exponentially heighten the bill taxpayers will inevitably have to pay. Article hints at that.
This guy gets it. Completely. The key is that Atlanta has one chance to do ONE or TWO affordable projects right. Clifton light rail is that project, plus extending the streetcar a bit to and up the east Beltline. The proposal going to the Mayor has 1) extending the streetcar to the Beltline 2) Clifton 3) Campbellton Rd. 4) connecting those pieces in between via the SW Beltline and west Atlanta. I expect only 1 and 2 ever get built. BTW, the transit bill is done. I don’t have language though. It’s a clusterfuck that brings no cash. It’s simply a Republican takeover of money that might come later.
Some language, North Fulton can impose sales tax to fund transit, but the funds can.not be used for heavy rail. WHAT THE FUCK New transit bill and it blocks real transit
Jan Jones almost single handedly (with support from a couple of mayors in N Fulton Co) killed the half penny sales tax referendum to fund the heavy rail project up 400. I honestly thought all of the other political stars had aligned including Sen Beach and Cmsr Hausmann. They got nervous and folded like deck chairs. On to DeKalb and Gwinnett. Fuck it.
Cant quit though. We need exurbs with the ability to commute in town if we want to keep blowing up Midtown and Downtown. Locking those people out of the ITP job market will just force bullshit corp sprawl north
What's the word on Greenhaven? Haven't seen anything since late February from the house. ***it failed***praise jesus***
Went to Opening Day for the Braves, the Battery is awesome and really enjoyed it. Great complex for the suburbs. It's worn away some of my bitterness, I'll always remember the way the Braves left Atlanta. Went to Mary Hoopas Chicken and Oysters on Hosea last night and it's pretty good. Happy hour $1 oysters were great. Not appalachacola boogers but from Mass. $15 for a half dozen seems a bit high and the rest of the menu is a bit overpriced. Small plate was $7 for collards and $8 for dirty rice. Chicken was good, but could use a little more seasoning. Publix still has the best fried chicken in the neighborhood. Don't see myself going back except for happy hour oysters.
Hartsfield has been far the worst fucking uber pick up imaginable. Whaw fucking time do ppl call Ubers that they are just waiting? As soon as the plane touches down? I mean, fuck. I know Thursday nights are busy are the busiest, but the cops do more damage.
I've never taken an uber from the airport and had no idea how freaking far of a walk it is to the pickup area last time (had to park my car, usually take MARTA). I'd probably rather take MARTA to some other station and get a pickup from there.
That's my go too as well. Took longer tonight and all backed up. Uber driver told me ppl are stupid and still go to upstairs even though the app tells you where to go specifically Morons
Got some from Ale Yeah yesterday. Nearly sold out 25 min after putting it on their IG. Drinking one now
They had a few 6 packs left on Saturday at the new Kroger off Piedmont/Lindbergh. The guy working almost let me snag 3 until he saw the note that is was restricted to 1 per person
So Floydd Mayweather was involved in a shooting at the Intercontinental last night. Apparently his body guard got shot. Expect it was a targeted hit, obviously
Drove past it this morning around 5am to go workout. Road was blocked off around there. Now it makes sense why it was blocked off.
Every line was fucked man and everyone was wearing Masters clothes. Assuming that may have been the issue.
I go to Whitehall a good bit because of this, and because I’m right there. They got Tropicalisma and Duende, ‘‘twas awesome.
For hole-in-the-wall food shacks, would you prefer between Nick's Food to Go or Woody's Steak and Cheese?
I've actually never had Nick's, and was planning on having one of those 2 delivered. I chose Woody's because I'd like to go to Nick's in person before having my first experience be through delivery (aka a lot more can go wrong).
I was in the mood for a sandwich, and I'd had it delivered before. It wasn't really soggy at all tbh. It took 2 hours, but the food was fine. My biggest worry was having my first impression of Nick's be ruined because of delivery. If I have Nick's at it's best, I would have no problem trying it delivered later, as my first impression would have already been made.... If that makes sense.
It should be back up soon, only the smokehouse caught on fire. It was weird driving by at lunch today and not seeing a clusterfuck in the parking lot.
Its alright. 5+ years ago it was up there but its gotten passed by as the food scene has improved. Good quality just a limited menu, space/setting is still great.
Thanks, I'm trying to figure out a place for a bachelor party dinner. White Oak Kitchen was originally suggested, but I've been looking at Ecco, Bocado, Rathbun Steak, and No. 246. Tried to get options at different price points as someone else is paying for it and figured they could pick whichever level suits them.
No. 246 while great, would not fit a bachelor party vibe imo. Look into Leon's Full Service a few doors down, or if you really want to get after it - Kimball House