“I always told people in the private sector, 'You can be the smartest person in the world, you can have the very best ideas, but if you can't sell them and you can't get other people to work with you, you're not going to succeed.'”

Henry Merritt “Hank” Paulson Jr. is an American investment banker and financier. He served as the 74th United States secretary of the treasury from 2006 to 2009, after leading Goldman Sachs as chairman and chief executive officer. Before entering government, Paulson built his career in high finance at Goldman Sachs, where he held the firm’s top leadership roles. He is known for his work in investment banking and for his time at the Treasury Department.