Until today, Greg Smith was the London-based executive director for Goldman Sachs overseeing equity derivatives in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
As of this morning, he might go down in Goldman Sachs history as the post-Occupy era Judas. In his New York Times op-ed column, Smith reasons with the readers on why he is leaving his employer of 12 years.
The jist, in his own words, is that “the interests of the client continue to be sidelined in the way the firm operates and thinks about making money.”
So far so good. Though the op-ed takes a turn for the saccharine when, in reflecting on his role as one of firm’s recruiter, he says, “I knew it was time to leave when I realized I could no longer look students in the eye and tell them what a great place this was to work.”
Eye roll. And then there is also the paragraph where he outlines all his professional achievements at Goldman during his 12 year tenure:
“Over the course of my career I have had the privilege of advising two of the largest hedge funds on the planet, five of the largest asset managers in the United States, and three of the most prominent sovereign wealth funds in the Middle East and Asia. My clients have a total asset base of more than a trillion dollars. I have always taken a lot of pride in advising my clients to do what I believe is right for them, even if it means less money for the firm.”
But still, we carry on. It is only when we reach the paragraph that lists off his proudest moments in life in gratuitous detail, that we have to give pause.
It reads, “My proudest moments in life – getting a full scholarship to go from South Africa to Stanford University, being selected as a Rhodes Scholar national finalist, winning a bronze medal for table tennis at the Maccabiah Games in Israel, known as the Jewish Olympics – have all come through hard work, with no shortcuts. Goldman Sachs today has become too much about shortcuts and not enough about achievement. It just doesn’t feel right to me anymore.”
This, combined with that other paragraph about his professional accomplishments at Goldman, should serve him well as he returns to the job market. As Daily Intel puts it, “Who needs LinkedIn when you’ve convinced the New York Times to print your résumé?”
Is it opportunistic? Sure is. Will this op-ed spark a much needed discussion over what exactly has changed on Wall Street since the financial crisis? We sure hope so.
(Source: Why I Am Leaving Goldman Sachs)
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