Goldman Sachs just hired away an AWS exec to co-lead engineering in its asset management division in a nod toward the bank’s cloud ambitions

• Goldman Sachs hired Kamlesh Talreja as partner and co-head of asset management engineering.
• Talreja leaves AWS, where he most recently was GM for AWS Marketplace.
• Talreja is the latest AWS leadership departure in a string of exits for the public cloud giant.

Goldman Sachs’ asset management division just gained a top engineer from Amazon Web Services as the bank leans more into cloud technology.

Kamlesh Talreja was named partner and co-head of asset management engineering at Goldman Sachs on Thursday, Insider has learned.

Talreja will work with Alex Potter, a 20-year Goldman veteran who was tapped as co-head of engineering for the asset management division in January, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Together, Talreja and Potter are tasked with driving the engineering strategy for asset management, building out a digital client experience, and increasing automation for more streamlined processes, according to an internal memo from Julian Salisbury, global co-head of the asset management division, that was viewed by Insider.

Goldman Sachs Asset Management is the bank’s investment and advisory division with $2.3 trillion of assets under supervision as of June 30. The group has recently pushed beyond its money manager roots into other services, such as consulting, to grow.

Goldman Sachs’ leadership have long touted their cloud ambitions, including the creation of a global financial cloud, as co-CIO Marco Argenti (also formerly of AWS) laid out last year. Most of Goldman’s new tech builds are cloud-based, CFO Stephen Scherr pointed out in the bank’s first-quarter earnings this year.

Talreja and Potter will also be responsible for executing the firm’s technology roadmap across alternative investing, according to the memo. Talreja will report to Salisbury.

Talreja comes from AWS, where he was general manager for AWS Marketplace, which is a channel that allows fintechs and software providers to sell tools and features on AWS. He has held senior engineering positions throughout AWS and Amazon during his 16-year tenure with the tech giant and its public-cloud arm.

The leadership addition hints at the bank’s increased focus on the public cloud, particularly in the asset management division. In July, Goldman tapped fintech Enfusion for some cloud-based services to scale investment management and back-end tech for its Alternative Investments & Manager Selection (AIMS) co-investment business.

AWS continues to churn top talent

AWS has recently seen a shake up among leadership, with Talreja’s departure being the second one announced this week.

Charlie Bell, formerly the senior vice president of AWS who reported directly to AWS CEO Adam Selipsky, has also left the company, The Information first reported Monday.

There have been at least 12 upper echelon exits from AWS this year, including Teresa Carlson, the former VP of worldwide public sector and industries who helmed some of the company’s biggest federal cloud deals, and Shawn Bice, the former VP of databases.

To be sure, AWS has made some notable hires since January, too, including new CEO Selipsky and current VPs Adolfo Hernandez and Joel Wallenstrom.