retirement

  • 08 Dec 2011 at 10:59 AM

John Mack: If I Wasn’t A Banker, I Would Have Been A Women’s Shoe Salesman

By Bess Levin

As you may have heard, yesterday afternoon, Morgan Stanley held a little good-bye party for John Mack, who will step down as chairman at the end of the year. What are Mack’s plans for the retirement phase of his life? Will he sail around the world? Restore old cars? Work on his golf game? Take up fly fishing? Move back down to his native North Carolina? Teach a course on business at his alma mater, Duke University? While those would all be admirable pursuits, it’s not likely Mack will have the time for them. Because John Mack, you see, has his sights set on something bigger. The realization of a dream, if you will. The dream of selling women’s shoes. Continue reading »

  • 13 Oct 2011 at 6:19 PM

You’ll Have To Pry Those Free Blizzards From Warren Buffett’s Cold, Dead Hands

By Bess Levin

Howard Buffett said his father, billionaire Warren Buffett, plans to work until death leading Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and isn’t considering retirement. “That word is not in his vocabulary,” Howard Buffett said in an interview yesterday in Des Moines, Iowa. “He says when he goes to the grave he will communicate with us via Ouija board.” [Bloomberg]

  • 27 Jun 2011 at 12:12 PM

Let’s Help John Mack Name His Book

By Bess Levin

Over the weekend Charlie Gasparino reported that John Mack is expected to retire as chairman of Morgan Stanley at the end of the year. According to Chaz, Mack will use some of his newfound time to write a book. It’s still in the early stages, though, and probably untitled. So! Continue reading »

  • 11 Jun 2010 at 10:45 AM

David Viniar Stands By His Man

By Bess Levin

Perhaps some of you remember Jon Winkelried? The former Goldman Sachs co-president is persona non grata at the firm but for the purposes of context, a quick refresh: Winkelried was the good for nothing prick who abandoned Lloyd Blankfein when the CEO needed him most, and when it would look most bad for the company to have a high level departure (circa the shit hitting the fan era). A traitorous shrew, really, who let deaf ears fall on Blankfein’s pleas to stay, and who traded it all in for a bunch of barnyard animals.

Anywho, Goldman ended up getting on just fine with out he whose name shall not be mentioned, got on great in fact, but his actions did leave a lasting mark on Blankfein, namely that he lost the ability to open up and trust high level execs and that his previously dormant abandonment issues flared up like nobody’s business. So when there was talk of Goldman CFO David “Bones” Viniar retiring, Lloyd naturally panicked. But apparently it was for naught. Bones would never do that to his li’l fella. Continue reading »

  • 23 Feb 2010 at 4:32 PM

The Long Kiss Good Night: Erin Callan Takes Final Bow

By Bess Levin

erincallanblackcar.jpgErin Callan took a leave of absence from her job at Credit Suisse over a year ago. Since then, we’d heard nary a peep from the old girl. In our minds we knew she’d likely extended her vacation to something more permanent, but in our hearts we hoped against hope to wake up one morning and see her going at it with David Einhorn on Squawk Box, or posing in front of black cars in the Wall Street Journal. Today Charlie “I’m gonna nut in Maria Bartiromo et al’s eyes” Gasparino has crushed that dream. The ace reporter, working the phones all morning, delivers this devastating blow sure to rock your world: “Callan has formally ‘retired’ from the securities business, according to people with knowledge of the matter.” The situation is not fluid.

Goldman Sachs: Layoffs, Rumors, Retirements and A Controversial Promotion

By Bess Levin

Here’s a fun one: at the end of January it was reported that Goldman would be cutting 5% of its global workforce, because (pick one) a. These bottoms weren’t living up to the Goldmany Goldman standard b. As it turns out, Goldman’s not better than everyone else (well, better than Citi but who isn’t?) c. Someone knocked over the printing press GS uses to make the money and with the new one on back order and the Kinkos employees on break, the firm was forced to take desperate measures.
Either way, 5 percent globally, not that big a D. Now some rumors going around the city’s biggest shuls seem to imply that things are worse than previously imagined. Apparently unexpected firings at 85 Broad today have people panicked that Goldman could layoff an overall 25 percent of its workforce.
Meanwhile, Peter Kraus, who took over as head of investment management in June 2001, just retired, according to sources familiar with the matter of making a firing look involuntary (We kid!…).
Remember Mark Spilker? He was the guy who cut down Kynikos founder Jim Chanos’s hedges in the Hamptons without asking first this summer. He was just added to Goldman’s management committee, the small coterie which runs the bank. That can’t be good.
Goldman, of course, had no comment (unless you consider the sound of someone laughing and crying at the same time a comment).