Title: Vice President & Senior Analyst
Firm: Moody's Investors Service
Age: 37
Combined with his strong work ethic and a people-centric approach to colleagues and clients, Douglas Goldmacher's passion for learning has been a key ingredient in the 37-year-old's success during his nine-year career at Moody's Investors Service.
Douglas, now a lead analyst for the credit rater's local governments team, focuses on New York and New Jersey, most recently spending time researching pension problems.
When Orlie Prince, vice president and manager for the Eastern Local Governments ratings team at Moody's, hired Douglas as an associate analyst in 2013 it quickly became clear, while he was green, her new employee had all the trappings of an "outstanding analyst."
As well as being "bright" Douglas was "intellectually curious," and driven by a love of learning that translated into a firm grasp on accounting fundamentals, finances, economic metrics, and how it all connects, Prince said.
"He's exceptional, and not all analysts are exceptional," she said.
With a love for deep-diving analytics and a strong commitment to his work, Douglas has already earned four promotions, said Prince.
When Douglas, a Long Island native, graduated from the University of Rochester in 2011 with a master's degree in business administration, a career in municipal finance wasn't on his mind.
He worked in sales for a number of years and applied for a spot Prince's team on the advice of a friend. He hasn't looked back, he said, since he feels he found the perfect match for both his passions and skillset at Moody's.
"I find government fascinating," Douglas said. "If you're dealing with the government, especially government financing, you can look outside the window and see the results while driving on the street."
Along with that natural passion for analytics, Douglas is also a skilled communicator and has "contributed positively to the market" with regular speaking engagements on a host of topics at industry conferences, said Prince.
Douglas has also proven himself keen and passionate at teaching and has become an important part of training and mentoring new employees at Moody's.
"You've got some analysts that know everything, but mentoring may not be natural to them," Prince said. "He's a natural teacher and he's patient and I think that is felt throughout the department."
For Douglas, both his love of learning and ease with teaching are a credit to his mother, and sisters, all of whom are teachers. From them, he's learned an important lesson he carries with him daily. "There's an opportunity to learn while you're teaching."
