Mark Schwartz, who has been at the firm for 27 years and is currently based out of Beijing, will become a senior director at . 

Ken Hitchner stays on as the president of Asia Pacific ex-Japan and Masa Mochida continues to serve as president of Goldman Sachs Japan.

The memo, signed by Goldmans’ chief executive Lloyd Blankfein and president Gary Cohn, said: “Throughout most of his tenure at Goldman Sachs, Mark played an instrumental role in shaping our strategy in Asia-Pacific.”

Schwartz became the first regional chairman Goldman Sachs based in China’s capital, a move seen as symbolising the importance of Asia to the business going forward; he took on the role in 2012. As he retires from the current role, Schwartz will return to New York.

"Throughout most of his tenure at Goldman Sachs, Mark played an instrumental role in shaping our strategy in Asia Pacific, first as president of Goldman Sachs Japan from 1997 to 1999, based in Tokyo, and later as chairman of Goldman Sachs Asia Pacific, a role he held until 2001.  He reprised that role in 2012 and relocated to Beijing. Mark’s leadership, expertise and focus on client service have been invaluable in further integrating our activities across Asia Pacific, building on previous successes and advancing our leading franchise in the region," the memo said. 

"Over the years, Mark has demonstrated an unwavering focus on supporting and enhancing Goldman Sachs’ culture, reminding us that the caliber of our people, combined with our history of serving clients, has differentiated us in our efforts to build successful businesses across geographies. As a member of the Pine Street Board, he helped develop the Pine Street Leadership Program for managing directors, among other Goldman Sachs training programs. In addition, Mark has hired, trained and mentored many of our professionals in Asia Pacific, helping to develop a new generation of leaders in the region," it continued.

"Mark first joined Goldman Sachs in 1979 as an associate in the Public Utility Finance Group in the Investment Banking Division.  He moved to Fixed Income in 1985, when he founded the High Yield Department. Mark then headed the Global Debt Capital Markets Department from 1991 to 1997 when he assumed his leadership roles in Asia-Pacific. Mark left the firm in 2001. He became a senior advisor to Soros Fund Management in 2002, where he later served as president and chief executive officer from 2003 to 2004. He then became chairman of MissionPoint Capital Partners, an investment firm he co-founded with a focus on the low-carbon economy, as well as a member of the Board of Directors of both MasterCard Inc. and SoftBank Corp," the memo said.

When Mark returned to Goldman Sachs in 2012, he re-joined the Management Committee.  He is also a member of the Growth Markets Executive Group.  Previously, Mark was a member of the Partnership Committee, the Commitments Committee and the Recruiting Committee.  He was named partner in 1988.

Goldman Sachs has faced some difficulties in Asia recently. Goldman Sachs is being probed for its role in underwriting $6 billion of bond sales for scandal-hit 1Malaysia Development Bhd, the state-run fund being investigated for alleged corruption and money laundering. Already, the Monetary Authority of Singapore has banned two banks, BSI and Falcon Private Bank, for shortcomings relating to transactions involving 1MDB, and authorities in Luxembourg and Switzerland are also involved. At the time of writing, Goldman Sachs has not been accused of authorities of wrongdoing in the 1MDB case. The Malaysian fund, meanwhile, has repeatedly denied charges of corruption against it.