Michael Coles obituary: Goldman Sachs banker

When Michael Coles was queueing for the chemistry test to join the University of Cambridge, he suddenly decided that he was in the wrong place. "I stood there and listened to the conversation and looked around at the competition," he said. "I am sure they were all very worthy and would in due course make great contributions to British science or technology. But none of them seemed to be people with whom I wanted to spend my working days or leisure times." He went across the road to a pub and called his father. "In a crisis," Coles noted, "he…