Top Goldman Sachs executive quits over culture of 'toxic' greed
Greg Smith, who leaves Goldman Sachs today after 12 years at the company, rising from summer intern to executive director and head of its US equity derivatives business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, slammed colleagues who “callously” talk about ripping their clients off, stating he had also seen five different managing directors refer to their own clients as “muppets”. In an article titled ‘Why I Am Leaving Goldman Sachs’, Smith said: "I can honestly say that the environment now is as toxic and destructive as I have ever seen it. To put the problem in the simplest terms, the interests of the client continue to be sidelined in the way the firm operates and thinks about making money."
"I attend derivatives sales meetings where not one single minute is spent asking questions about how we can help clients. It’s purely about how we can make the most possible money off of them. If you were an alien from Mars and sat in on one of these meetings, you would believe that a client’s success or progress was not part of the thought process at all."
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