NEW YORK (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs on Monday tapped veteran banker Stefan Duffner to lead the investment bank's activism and shareholder advisory work in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) at a time corporations are increasingly asking for help to defend against activist investors pushing for changes.

Duffner, who joined Goldman Sachs as an analyst in 2005 and was promoted to managing director in 2017, will become the head of ASA (activism and shareholder advisory) in EMEA in addition to his responsibilities as head M&A for the consumer retail group in EMEA, according to a memo to Goldman staff seen by Reuters.

Goldman's global head of Activism and Shareholder Advisory, Avinash Mehrotra, signed the memo along with Nimesh Khiroya and Carsten Woehrn, who are co-heads of EMEA M&A.

Anne Bizien, who led the activism group in Europe for four years, will focus on the bank's broader client franchise in France. She was promoted to partner last year.

Goldman last year again ranked as the industry's top financial adviser with 49 engagements, leading JP Morgan which had 37 engagements, the Bloomberg Global Activism League Table shows.

Goldman also said that Camila Rodriguez Bedoya will join the activism defense group, taking on the role in addition to her M&A role in the Financial Institutions Group in EMEA.

In the United States, Goldman is working with Honeywell which is being pushed by hedge fund Elliott Investment Management to make changes, while in Europe it worked with Rentokil when Trian Fund Management built a position and with Reckitt, when Eminence Capital built a stake.

Activism defense work is becoming increasingly important for banks and even smaller players are adding teams to offer these services to clients who may be coming under threat. In 2024, a record number of activist shareholders, including 45 newcomers who deployed the strategy for the first time, mounted campaigns at global companies and corporations are bracing for more fights this year, bankers and lawyers said.