Goldman Sachs just promoted 643 people to the coveted role of managing director — its largest ever class, marking a change of approach from chief executive David Solomon who has worked to restore lustre to its upper ranks.

Managing director is a notch below the partner level at Goldman Sachs, and the US investment bank has been shrinking its class of promotions in recent years — shifting it to a two-year rather than annual cycle. Solomon has previously reduced the size of senior promotions during his tenure, with last year's partner class of 60 its smallest since the bank went public in the 1990s.