Goldman just made a big hire to its prized technology division

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Participants in the 2015 "GS Kensho Hackathon" hosted at Goldman Sachs' New York headquarters.

Goldman Sachs hired attorney Angela Payne James as the chief of staff for the technology division, according to an internal memo that went out on Tuesday morning.

"Angela’s responsibilities will include working with us to execute on goals and priorities across the Technology Division" the memo from Don Duet and Paul Walker said.

James, who previously worked at Alston & Bird LLP where she specialized in technology and intellectual property, will join Goldman with the rank of managing director. She will also join the Technology Executive Leadership Group.

She has her JD from Harvard Law School and a bachelor's degree from Harvard. In 2015, she was named to the "National Black Lawyers – Top 100" list.

Goldman has been making some big hires on an executive level in its prized technology division, which is led by chief information officer Marty Chavez and has about 11,000 staff.

Big hires

Earlier this month, the bank said that Top Jessop would move over from the securities division to the technology division as the global head of technology business development (TechBD).

Both James and Jessop will report to Lisa Opoku, who was also recently appointed to chief operating officer role for engineering (tech division and strats groups). Opoku moved over from securities division to the technology division in June.

Traditionally, the technology division had been viewed as a "back office" function. That perception has been changing lately.

At its core, Goldman Sachs is still a financial-services company that helps clients execute transactions and advises companies on mergers and acquisitions and initial public offerings. For Goldman, though, investing in technology has become an important business opportunity.

Goldman leadership has frequently referred to the firm as a "technology company."

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