Harvey Schwartz

Harvey Schwartz
Harvey Schwartz
Born	Template:Birth year and age
Birthplace	Morristown, New Jersey, United States
Nationality	American
Occupation	Business executive
Title	CEO of The Carlyle Group
Known for	CEO of The Carlyle Group; former President and co-COO of Goldman Sachs
Education	Columbia University (MBA) Rutgers University, New Brunswick (BA)

Harvey M. Schwartz (born 1964) is an American business executive who serves as the chief executive officer of The Carlyle Group, one of the world's largest private equity firms. His path from a modest upbringing in Morristown, New Jersey, through the trading floors of Wall Street to the top of global finance, traces one of the more notable careers in modern American business. Before joining Carlyle in 2023, Schwartz spent more than two decades at Goldman Sachs, where he rose from a position in the firm's commodities division to become chief financial officer in 2012 and, ultimately, president and co-chief operating officer in 2016. At Carlyle, Schwartz has overseen a strategic shift toward credit and insurance-linked assets while navigating evolving global capital markets. His total compensation in 2024 was reported at $29.6 million, placing him among the highest-paid executives in the financial services industry.

Early Life

Harvey M. Schwartz was born in 1964 and grew up in Morristown, New Jersey. His childhood has been described as exceptionally difficult. According to a 2025 profile published by eFinancialCareers, Schwartz experienced circumstances in his early years that, in retrospect, make the trajectory of his subsequent career all the more notable. In a 2025 interview with Bloomberg, Schwartz reflected on how he reached the upper echelons of Wall Street, offering insight into the personal experiences that shaped his approach to leadership and risk management.

Schwartz grew up in a working-class environment in northern New Jersey. His formative years in Morristown, a small city in Morris County, provided the backdrop for what would become a career centered on finance and capital markets. Local reporting from New Jersey media outlets has described his rise from Morristown to the executive suite of Goldman Sachs as a significant journey, underscoring the distance between his origins and the rarefied world of global investment banking.

Details of Schwartz's family background remain limited in publicly available sources. However, his personal narrative — as referenced across multiple interviews and profiles over the years — has often emphasized themes of resilience and the importance of seizing opportunity, elements that appear rooted in the challenges of his upbringing.

Education

Schwartz attended Rutgers University, New Brunswick, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. He subsequently pursued graduate studies at Columbia University, where he obtained a Master of Business Administration (MBA). The combination of a public university undergraduate education and an Ivy League graduate degree positioned Schwartz for entry into Wall Street's competitive financial services industry during the late 1980s and early 1990s — a period of significant growth and transformation in American capital markets.

Career

Early Career and Goldman Sachs (1997–2012)

Before joining Goldman Sachs, Schwartz worked in the financial services industry, though detailed information about his pre-Goldman positions is limited in available sources. He joined Goldman Sachs in 1997, entering the firm's commodities trading operation. Goldman Sachs had a long-established presence in commodities, having acquired the commodities trading firm J. Aron & Company in 1981, a transaction that brought into the firm several executives who would later shape its culture and strategy.

Within Goldman's commodities and trading divisions, Schwartz built a reputation over more than a decade. Bloomberg reported in 2012 that Schwartz had navigated significant market disruptions during his career, including the aftermath of Black Monday, demonstrating an ability to manage risk during periods of extreme volatility. His ascent through Goldman's ranks was characterized by a deep understanding of trading operations, risk management, and the firm's balance sheet — skills that would prove central to his later appointment as chief financial officer.

Chief Financial Officer of Goldman Sachs (2012–2016)

In October 2012, Schwartz was named chief financial officer of Goldman Sachs, one of the most prominent positions in global finance. The appointment placed him in charge of the financial management and reporting of a firm that was, at the time, among the most profitable and influential investment banks in the world.

As CFO, Schwartz was responsible for overseeing Goldman's financial strategy, capital allocation, regulatory compliance regarding financial disclosures, and investor relations. His tenure in the role coincided with a period during which major banks faced increased regulatory scrutiny in the wake of the 2007–2008 financial crisis, including the implementation of enhanced capital requirements and stress testing under frameworks such as Dodd-Frank and Basel III.

Schwartz served as CFO for approximately four years, during which time he was recognized as a key member of Goldman's senior leadership team and a potential candidate for future leadership of the firm.

President and Co-Chief Operating Officer of Goldman Sachs (2016–2018)

In December 2016, following the departure of Gary Cohn to serve as Director of the National Economic Council in the incoming Trump administration, Goldman Sachs undertook a significant reorganization of its executive leadership. Schwartz was elevated to the position of president and co-chief operating officer, sharing the title with David Solomon, who had led the firm's investment banking division.

The dual appointment was widely interpreted as a succession contest. With Lloyd Blankfein remaining as chairman and CEO, both Schwartz and Solomon were viewed as the two leading candidates to eventually lead the firm. The New New York Times reported on the dynamics of this succession race in November 2017, highlighting the contrasting backgrounds and management styles of the two executives — Schwartz, with his roots in trading and risk management, and Solomon, with his investment banking and client-facing orientation.

In early 2018, the succession question was resolved when David Solomon was selected to succeed Blankfein. Schwartz departed Goldman Sachs in 2018 after more than two decades at the firm.

Post-Goldman Activities (2018–2023)

Following his departure from Goldman Sachs, Schwartz engaged in several business and advisory roles. He joined the board of SoFi (Social Finance), the online personal finance company, and maintained a role in its leadership structure. SoFi completed its combination with Social Capital Hedosophia, a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC), in 2021, becoming a publicly traded company.

In late 2021, Schwartz was named group chairman and non-executive director of The Bank of London, a newly established clearing bank based in the United Kingdom. The Bank of London launched with a reported valuation of $1 billion, positioning itself as a new entrant in the global clearing and transaction banking market.

Schwartz also became involved in philanthropic and nonprofit governance. He was appointed to the board of directors of One Mind, an organization focused on brain health research and treatment.

During the 2020 U.S. presidential election cycle, Schwartz made a notable political contribution, donating to the campaign of Joe Biden. CNBC reported in October 2020 that Schwartz was among former Goldman Sachs executives who made late donations to Biden's presidential bid.

CEO of The Carlyle Group (2023–present)

In early 2023, Schwartz was named chief executive officer of The Carlyle Group and appointed as a member of the firm's board of directors. The appointment came at a pivotal moment for Carlyle, which is one of the world's largest alternative asset management firms and was described as the sixth-largest private equity firm globally. The firm announced the appointment through a press release, signaling a new chapter in its leadership following a period of leadership transition.

As CEO, Schwartz has overseen a strategic evolution at Carlyle, with a particular emphasis on expanding the firm's presence in private credit and insurance-linked investment strategies. In a July 2025 Bloomberg interview, Schwartz discussed the forces driving growth in private markets and articulated his view on what private capital means for the broader U.S. economy.

In a mid-year 2025 message published on Carlyle's website, Schwartz reflected on the global economic environment, noting the challenges and opportunities facing the firm as it navigated what he characterized as a "crossroad" in global markets. By October 2025, Schwartz publicly addressed concerns about volatility in credit markets, telling Bloomberg that recent disruptions in credit were on his "worry list," while also expressing a view that the market demonstrated underlying resilience.

Schwartz has also weighed in on the private equity industry's push to raise capital from individual, non-institutional investors. In a December 2025 interview reported by Semafor, he cautioned about the language used in marketing private capital products to retail investors, noting that such investments are "sometimes not liquid at all" — a notable statement from the head of a major private equity firm at a time when the industry has aggressively courted wealthy individual investors.

In his role at Carlyle, Schwartz has also engaged in international diplomatic discussions. In July 2025, he met with Xie Feng, the Ambassador of China to the United States, in a meeting reported by the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., reflecting the geopolitical dimensions of Carlyle's global investment portfolio and the firm's engagement with major international stakeholders.

Schwartz's compensation as Carlyle CEO has placed him among the most highly compensated executives in the American financial sector. In 2024, his total compensation was reported at $29.6 million, ranking him among the top-paid financial services chief executives in the United States. Earlier reporting by Business Insider also placed him among the highest-paid U.S. CEOs based on compensation package data.

Personal Life

Schwartz is originally from Morristown, New Jersey, and has maintained connections to his home state throughout his career. Details about his family life remain largely private. During the 2020 U.S. presidential election, Schwartz made a public political donation to Joe Biden's campaign, one of the few instances in which his personal political activities have been publicly documented.

Outside of his corporate roles, Schwartz has been involved in nonprofit governance, including his service on the board of directors of One Mind, a nonprofit organization dedicated to brain health research. He has also served in board and advisory capacities at SoFi, the online financial services company.

Schwartz's personal narrative — particularly the contrast between his childhood circumstances and his later career achievements — has been a recurring subject of media interest. A 2025 profile in eFinancialCareers described his early life as marked by significant adversity, framing his subsequent success in finance as all the more exceptional given those beginnings.

Recognition

Schwartz's career trajectory has drawn significant media attention and professional recognition. His appointment as president and co-chief operating officer of Goldman Sachs in 2016 placed him among the most senior executives in global banking and was covered extensively by outlets including Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times.

His subsequent appointment as CEO of The Carlyle Group in 2023 was one of the most high-profile executive hires in the alternative asset management industry, generating widespread coverage in the financial press. The Financial Times reported on Schwartz's transition from Goldman Sachs to the leadership of one of the world's largest private equity firms.

In 2025, Schwartz was featured on Bloomberg's Bullish with Sonali Basak program, where he discussed his career arc and perspective on private markets in a long-form interview format. His compensation in 2024, reported at $29.6 million by citybiz, further underscored his standing among the top tier of American financial executives.

Schwartz's engagement in international affairs — including his meeting with the Chinese Ambassador to the United States in July 2025 — reflects the prominence of his role and the geopolitical significance of the firm he leads.