Nomura Finding Lehman Employees To Be Extremely Difficult (Particularly Those Damn Women)

Posted by Bess Levin, Jul 29, 2009, 10:14am

Picture 1830.pngIt's been almost a year since Nomura acquired Lehman's international operations, and while some fumbling and a lot "where does this go" among personnel on either side is to be expected, things remain quite awkward, with the children of Dick Fuld all but refusing to submit to their new employer's way of doing things.

Like start the day in verse.

Lehman bankers encountered a different work culture at Nomura. One team of Nomura traders, for instance, sang a company song at morning meetings.

And be followed around by a guy with a notepad who doesn't say much but constantly judges.

Nomura set up a transition team that fanned out around the globe to help with integration. Senior investment bankers from the Lehman side started to complain about their "shadows," bankers from the Nomura side who would accompany them to client meetings and report back to other executives, according to Lehman-side bankers. The Nomura spokeswoman says those bankers were helping with the integration.

And just accept that women are there to serve, okay? Why is this a cause for getting one's panties in a bunch?

Nomura kicked off a training session for new hires in April by separating the men and women. The women, including Harvard graduates hired by Lehman Brothers before it collapsed, were taught how to wear their hair, serve tea and choose their wardrobes according to the season, say executives who fielded a complaint about the session.

Asked about the training sessions for new hires, a Nomura spokeswoman said that both sexes were taught business etiquette, and the men and women were trained separately for logistical reasons.

It's not like they're being asked to slut it up. In fact, the females are being expressly told: do not dress like a harlot, or you're out on your ass. This is a place of business. We can't have bitches running wild.

Some Nomura managers interpreted strictly the company's dress code for women...[Lehman women were instructed] to wear sleeves no shorter than midbicep and to avoid brightly colored clothing, according to several people who joined from Lehman. Several women were sent home from the trading floor for dressing "inappropriately," these people say.

"I was sent home for wearing a short-sleeve dress, even though I was wearing a jacket," says one woman who says she plans to leave as soon as she receives her final guaranteed bonus payment.

And good god, get rid of those garish streaks in your hair. What is this, Six Flags?

They told women joining from Lehman to remove highlights from their hair.

The rationale behind this one is yet to be revealed but let's just accept for now that it makes sense. The Bear guys didn't have a problem with it when JPM pulled a similar stunt.

Nomura's human-resources department changed some women's email addresses to their married names, from their maiden names, without asking which names they used professionally, according to the people who joined from Lehman.

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Tags: Erin Callan never had to put up with shit like this

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