Goldman’s Top DEI Exec Out Days After Bank Scraps Woke Board Policy

Days after the firm announced that they were scrapping DEI requirements for new board members, and six years after the death of George Floyd that ushered in institutionalized virtue-signaling, the bank’s head of DEI is leaving. 

Megan Hogan, who’s been at the firm 12 years, is taking her shtick to Morgan Stanley according to Business Insider, which Hogan confirmed via email, telling the outlet that Morgan Stanley had extended “an amazing opportunity” to her in talent development. 

She will report to Morgan’s head of talent development, Susan Reid, the firm’s global head of talent, and will begin in April. 

The move comes after Goldman’s hard pivot away from DEI following Donald Trump’s second term – retooling its diversity program, known as One Million Black Women (oh god), a multibillion-dollar commitment to invest in black businesswomen and nonprofit leaders. 

The bank also ended its requirement that companies it takes public have diverse boards, and stopped highlighting specific DEI targets in annual reports. 

Hogan is being replaced by Lauren Uranker, another managing director who has been with the firm for 14 years who will become the new sole head of talent, development, engagement and management, according to the report. Her mandate will be to concentrate on the transition to AI-supported work, team growth, and finding ways to keep top talent from fleeing. 

In early 2025, anti-DEI activist groups, which included the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR), the National Legal and Policy Center and the Heritage Foundation, also targeted the bank – submitting proposals challenging their business practices, and arguing that the banks’ policies have left them and their shareholders vulnerable to costly legal challenges. 

So-called anti-woke groups have seized on the 2023 Supreme Court ruling that found race-based affirmative action in college-admissions processes is unconstitutional. Since then, the groups have challenged a range of diversity policies across Corporate America, both in court and through shareholder proposals. 

…

Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office to end DEI programs across the federal government. –WSJ

The NCPPR was also a co-plaintiff in a successful ruling in late 2024 against the SEC over Nasdaq’s requirement that companies listed on its exchange meet DEI requirements. 

“This is a reflection of the changing legal environment and adapting to the reality of those legal shifts,” a genderless spokesperson told Business Insider, adding that the firm stands by the benefit of “diverse perspectives and experiences.” 

Indeed!