In an announcement from Goldman Sachs Group Inc., J, Michael Evans would be retiring after more than two decades with the bank. He was a vice chairman who headed the emerging markets division of the bank and was viewed as a potential successor to Chief Executive Officer Lloyd C. Blankfein.

He would step down by year's end and become one of the senior directors of the bank. Evans was in the securities division, equities trading as well as equity capital markets. He held positions in New York, London and Hong Kong. Back in 2011, he was appointed to become the leader for the emerging markets unit under the program of CEO Blankfein 'Goldman Sachs in more places'. 

In a statement, the Goldman Sachs CEO said, "Michael's deep commitment to the firm, his unrelenting focus on our clients and his broad global market knowledge have left an extraordinary mark at Goldman Sachs."