Director Ties Connect Goldman Sachs to Tiffany

Goldman Sachs is expanding its scope to Japan, where it has agreed to purchase Tiffany and Co’s Tokyo store for $318 million (see article from Reuters). We created an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map of the common connections between Goldman and Tiffany’s to try to discover what may have sparked this deal. After exploring the Knowledge Map, we discovered key relationships that may have helped Goldman to land this hot property.

Click here for an interactive version of this IntellectSpace Knowledge Map (Internet Explorer browsers only): http://nv.intellectspace.com/ispace/GuestMonitor.aspx?id=e4e6545e-f1e8-4c33-973b-3f62e7bea757

A first strong tie links Abby F. Kohnstamm (a Tiffany’s Director), to Charles A. Davis (Goldman’s former Head of Investment Banking). Davis was with Goldman for 23 years until 1998, and knows Kohnstamm through Progressive, where they both currently serve as Directors. Given the many years Davis served at Goldman as a senior executive, he likely still has strong ties to the company’s current leadership team, who would have found this relationship particularly advantageous in securing a deal with Tiffany’s.

The Knowledge Map also shows that William A. Shutzer (a Tiffany’s Director) has numerous connections to people at Goldman. Shutzer shares a noteworthy relationship through Fortress Investment Group, where he previously served as Director. Peter L. Brigar Jr, who served as Partner and spent 15 years at Goldman, joined Fortress in 2002 and is now a Director at Fortress. Shutzer must know Brigar through overlapping board memberships at Fortress, which could then be useful for Goldman’s bid for Tiffany’s Tokyo store.