Nicholas Valtz was born in Paris, earned letters as a fencer at Harvard University, loved fast cars and worked his way up to managing director at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in New York.

At 39, married with two young children, he still found time for fresh adventures.

“He was new to kitesurfing,” his brother, Zeke Valtz, said yesterday in an e-mail. “But he engaged new activities and endeavors with enthusiasm.”

On the morning of July 20, Valtz left his home in Bridgehampton, New York, on Long Island’s eastern end, to spend time on his latest sport. Kitesurfing, also known as kiteboarding, combines elements of windsurfing and paragliding.

After he didn’t return home, family members went searching. They found his body in Napeague Harbor, a popular spot for kiteboarding. Police in East Hampton, New York, said his body was found floating in the water secured to his kite.

At Goldman Sachs, where he worked since 2000, Valtz was a managing director in cross-asset sales. He helped manage orders for trading clients and pitch them products and ideas among different types of securities.

His wife, Sashi Valtz, also works at Goldman Sachs as head of global third-party research sales, according to her LinkedIn profile. She survives him, as do their two children.

“We’re deeply saddened by this tragedy and our thoughts are with Nick’s family,” Michael DuVally, a spokesman for Manhattan-based Goldman Sachs, said in an e-mailed statement.

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