At 1.45pm on Tuesday, as New York City was deluged in rain, David Solomon got into a car outside Goldman Sachs’ Manhattan headquarters. Although the 56-year-old had been confirmed as the next chief executive of the venerable Wall Street bank less than six hours earlier, neither bad weather nor the promotion could keep him from a client waiting uptown. 

“David is perhaps the most client-focused banker on the Street,” says Glenn Hutchins, a private equity investor who counts Mr Solomon as a longtime friend and adviser.

Outside Goldman Sachs, the investment banker is best known for moonlighting as a DJ, patronising top restaurants, amassing a lavish wine collection and a love of adventurous pursuits such as kitesurfing. Internally, bankers talk of his intensity and an “always on” mentality; attributes that won him key clients over the years such as  Sheldon Adelson, the owner of the Las Vegas Sands casino, and Disney’s Bob Iger.