The chairman of Heathrow Airport is returning to Goldman Sachs, the Wall Street bank where he spent more than 20 years, in a key international role.

Sky News has learnt that Lord Deighton, who played a key part in the 2012 Olympic Games in London, is to become chairman of Goldman Sachs International (GSI), its main holding company outside the US.

The appointment of Lord Deighton, who also chairs The Economist Group, was announced in an internal memo by David Solomon, Goldman’s boss, on Thursday.

In the note, seen by Sky News, Mr Solomon said Lord Deighton would succeed Sir Bradley Fried as chair of GSI once regulatory approval had been received.

Sir Bradley, who has only held the post for 15 months, is stepping down to “take on the role of chief executive officer of a privately-held company with operations predominantly in the US”, the memo said.

Sources said the company referred to was Ki Corporation, which is connected to South Africa’s Kirsh family.

The outgoing chair replaced Jose Manuel Barroso, the former European Commission president, whose appointment to the role at the world’s most prominent investment bank in 2016 ignited a firestorm in Brussels.

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The chairmanship of GSI is regarded as a prestigious post, overseeing Goldman’s large London-based operations, which employ thousands of people.

While Goldman has increased its headcount in mainland Europe since Brexit, it has retained a big presence in London, where GSI chief executive Richard Gnodde is based.

A Goldman spokesman declined to comment.

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