‘Brings considerable value’: Josh Frydenberg lands job at Goldman Sachs

Former federal treasurer Josh Frydenberg has found his next job after losing his seat at the 2022 federal election, joining investment bank Goldman Sachs as a senior regional adviser for the Asia Pacific.

Frydenberg was defeated by independent candidate Dr Monique Ryan in his Melbourne seat of Kooyong and was among a number of senior Liberal MPs to lose to so-called teal independents backed by wealthy political activist Simon Holmes a Court.

Josh Frydenberg at Goldman Sachs Melbourne office after joining the investment bank as an adviser.

Goldman Sachs said in an announcement on Thursday that Frydenberg was “widely recognised for his effective management and leadership of the country’s economy during the COVID-19 pandemic”.

Goldman Sachs Australia chief executive Simon Rothery said Frydenberg would be focused on work with the investment bank’s corporate and institutional clients and would not work on any government related business.

“Josh has impeccable relationships across the business community. At the moment the biggest concerns for clients are geopolitical risks in Europe and North Asia, the uncertain economic outlook and rising energy prices. As a former treasurer and federal energy minister he brings a unique insight into all of these challenges,” Rothery said.

Goldman Sachs understands it could lose the former treasurer if he decides to re-enter the political arena at the 2025 election. Much hinges on how much Frydenberg settles into the well-paying job, which will involve plenty of travel across Asia, the United States and Europe, compared to the grind of federal politics.

A key issue is a likely redistribution of Victorian electorates with the state to lose at least one if not two seats. Those seats are likely to come out of the area centred on Frydenberg’s old electorate of Kooyong and neighbouring Higgins, Chisholm and Goldstein. That issue will not be resolved until 2024.

The political landscape is likely to be very different to this year when the prime ministership of Scott Morrison became a major issue in Kooyong that was won by Ryan by 6000 votes.

Frydenberg, once touted as a future leader of the Liberal Party and potential prime minister, was one of the biggest names to lose his seat as Morrison and the Coalition were swept from federal government in May and replaced by the Anthony Albanese-led Labor Party.

Former treasurer Josh Frydenberg has found a new job.Credit: Getty Images

He joins a number of former politicians moving into high-paying senior roles in the private sector after leaving politics, with former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian joining Optus earlier this year in her first formal role since resigning amid a corruption investigation last October.

Frydenberg, who previously worked for investment firm Deutsche Bank before entering politics, said in a statement he was pleased to join “the pre-eminent mergers and acquisitions and capital markets adviser to clients globally”.

“I look forward to joining the team and contributing to the firm’s leadership, its global capability, and its strength of client franchise,” he said.

On election night, Frydenberg hinted he hoped to return to politics in the future, telling his supporters he still had “a lot left in the tank” but looked forward to spending more time with his family.

The former treasurer lost his blue-ribbon seat in Melbourne’s inner-east after a prolonged campaign from paediatrician and political novice Ryan, who was backed by the Voices of Kooyong group and advocated for greater action on climate change, integrity in politics and improved treatment of women.

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