WHO: Don Truesdale, 32
WHAT: Investment banker, financial institutions group
WHERE: Goldman, Sachs & Co., New York
WHEN: Was with First Interstate Bancorp in Los Angeles before joining Goldman.
WHY: Perceptive and even-tempered, yet tenacious in carrying out clients' wishes.
"He's an honest broker," said P. Andrews McLane, managing director of private equity firm TA Associates Inc. "Some people mistreat confidences, but he doesn't. He's conscientious and knowledgeable."
"Don lacks the ego and arrogance that you often find in the investment banking community," said Christopher Browne, managing director of Tweedy, Browne Co. in New York, which hired Goldman, Sachs to help sell the firm.
"He was one of the lead people in our transaction. He listened to what we wanted and understood our business, which is different from other businesses, and saw how it would appeal to others. There was no screaming and no shouting because he's just not the egotistical-stud-type. He has a sense of humor and is easy to get along with."