Goldman Sachs Managing Director Nicholas Valtz Found Dead

By Julia Verlaine and Michael J. Moore

Nicholas Valtz, a managing director in cross-asset sales at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) in New York, was found dead yesterday by family members who went searching for him after he didn’t return from a kiteboarding outing.
Valtz, 39, was found in Napeague Harbor near the eastern end of Long Island, according to the East Hampton, New York, police. He was a “novice kiteboarder” and was found floating in the water secured to his kite, police said in a statement released yesterday. Other kite gear was found in a grassy area of the harbor, police said.
“We’re deeply saddened by this tragedy and our thoughts are with Nick’s family,” Michael DuVally, a spokesman for Manhattan-based Goldman Sachs, said in an e-mailed statement.
Valtz, who joined the firm in 2000, was promoted to managing director in 2010. As a cross-asset sales executive, he helped manage orders for trading clients and pitch them products and ideas among different types of securities. His wife, Sashi Valtz, also works at Goldman Sachs as head of global third-party research sales, according to her LinkedIn profile.

Nicholas Andrew Valtz was born in September 1974 and received a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University in 1996, according to New York voting records and Harvard’s website. The school lists him as earning letters in fencing for three years.
Police are still investigating the death, according to the statement.

Hybrid Sport

Kiteboarding is a convergence of windsurfing and paragliding that has attracted technology executives including Google Inc. co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page. Also called kitesurfing, it propels riders across water at speeds as fast as 40 miles per hour (64 kilometers per hour), on boards about 4 feet to 5 1/2 feet long (1.2 meters to 1.7 meters).
For steering, a crossbar is connected to the kites with lines. Using waves as ramps, riders can vault 10 feet to 40 feet out of the water and often spin before landing. They can stop by pushing the crossbar to deflate the kite, or by ditching in the surf.
In March 2008, Valtz shaved his head to raise money for childhood cancer research, according to the website for St. Baldrick’s Foundation.
Valtz enjoyed technology products and fast cars, according to the website for his brother-in-law’s 2012 wedding in which he was a groomsman.