Goldman Sachs Has Hired Former Silicon Valley Exec To Recruit Tech Talent

Tech and finance have long been deeply intertwined, even co-dependent.

But whether different mindsets, different cultures and different cities can attract the same level of tech talent remains to be seen. Could money make a difference? JL

Frank Chaparro reports in Business Insider:

Wall Street firms are digitizing their offerings and are competing with tech giants for engineering talent. Goldman and other top banks have struggled to compete with tech firms, which offer more flexible hours and better perks such as casual dress codes and fridges stocked with beer. Even if firms like Goldman Sachs try to mimic tech culture, tech firms will have the upper hand in attracting talent. "If you are a rock star programmer, you want to come to Silicon Valley and change the world, not use your talents to help bankers make more money."
Goldman Sachs is bringing on a Silicon Valley-insider to lure tech talent.
The investment bank has hired Andrew Tout from Square, a San Francisco-based financial technology company, to help fill the bank with top engineering talent, according to Bloomberg. Tout will be joining the bank to fill a new position tasked with leading engineering recruitment.
Goldman Sachs has been on a hiring spree to become the Google of Wall Street. Specifically, the investment bank is staffing up Marquee, its platform that provides clients access to the bank's analytics, data, content via a browser of an API.
One ad posted in mid-July said the bank is "looking for creative and talented engineers to build out our next generation client facing risk and execution platforms."
In addition to hiring Tout, Goldman has raised the pay for programmers fresh out of college to lure them away from the Valley, according to Bloomberg.
"Prior to the changes, a beginning engineer in New York could expect to make a base salary of about $83,000, with a bonus of about $12,000," according to Bloomberg. "That would probably climb to more than $100,000, with a larger bonus under the new policy."
Tiffany Galvin, a Goldman Sachs spokeswoman, told Business Insider the firm is focused "on attracting top tech talent."
Attracting talent away from the Valley will not be an easy feat, according to one Silicon Valley veteran. 
Goldman and other top banks have struggled to compete with tech firms, which offer more flexible hours and better perks such as casual dress codes and fridges stocked with beer. 
Tien Tzuo, CEO of Zuora, a software firm, told Business Insider Wall Street's problem won't be easy to overcome. He thinks even if firms like Goldman Sachs try to mimic tech culture, tech firms will have the upper hand in attracting talent.
"If you are a rock star programmer, you want to come to Silicon Valley and change the world, not use your talents to help bankers make more money," Tzuo said.