Chase poaches head of product from Goldman’s Marcus

Marcus by Goldman Sachs, which likens itself to a fintech startup operating inside a large bank, is these days looking more like a legacy bank unit facing a flight of talent – the latest being head of product Sonali Divilek.

Why should we care?
JPMorgan Chase is reportedly hiring Divilek as head of digital channels and products for consumer and community banking, part of a series of “poaches” not long after Chase CEO Jamie Dimon signaled alarm over fintech as a threat to its business in its latest shareholder letter. Chase is also hiring Kaaren Hanson, an executive vice president in experience design and research at Wells Fargo and Sumit Gupta, a global director in digital marketing and e-commerce at Google. But back to Marcus: Divilek is the latest in a string of departures at Goldman’s Marcus unit, including Omer Ismail, who previously led Goldman Sachs’ Marcus consumer unit, and David Stark, who was responsible for Goldman’s consumer brand partnerships (both fled to Walmart). Partner Adam Dell also stepped down in January. The high-profile exits come as reports are surfacing about Marcus staffers “quitting in droves” as unnamed former and current employees paint a picture of a cultural breakdown within Goldman. Marcus, which has $100B in deposits and $8B in loans, is often seen as a success story, but insiders allege that a quarter of engineers involved since its beginnings are gone. The bank, however, questioned the report, suggesting it does not present an accurate picture. “The departure estimates are overstated and our business continues to be a magnet for talent,” a company spokesperson said.