President Donald Trump has nominated Edward Forst, chairman of London‑based private equity firm Lion Capital, to lead the General Services Administration. His appointment requires Senate confirmation.
If confirmed, Forst would replace Stephen Ehikian, who served as acting administrator since January and remains deputy administrator. Mike Rigas recently assumed the acting role until the Senate acts.
Forst brings decades of experience in banking, finance and real estate. He has chaired Lion Capital since 2020, investing in consumer brands including Gordon Ramsay, Jimmy Choo and Weetabix.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Forst spent 17 years at Goldman Sachs, where he was co‑CEO of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, executive vice president and chief administrative officer, and chaired the Global Capital Commitments Committee. He also chaired the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association.
During the 2008 financial crisis, Forst left Goldman to become executive vice president and principal operating officer at Harvard University, overseeing non‑academic operations and serving on the board of the Harvard Management Company. His biography says he advised the Treasury Department during the crisis.
After leaving Goldman, he led Cushman & Wakefield as president and CEO and earlier was managing director at Bankers Trust, overseeing U.S. and European credit decisions and corporate loan trading.
Forst holds an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and an AB in economics from Harvard University. He serves on several boards, including the Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs and the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research at Northwell Health.
