Hello.
It's been 19 years since 9/11, but the pain is still very real for many of us. Nearly two decades later, the anniversary still holds significant weight, particularly for Wall Street, as so many financial firms had offices in the World Trade Center.
Since the attacks, there have been plenty of fantastic pieces written uncovering countless acts of heroism. However, if you decide to read one piece today, I encourage you to check out this story from The New Yorker originally published in February 2002. It's a profile of Rick Rescorla, who was a VP in charge of security at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and credited for saving thousands of lives thanks to evacuation plans he put in place prior to the attacks.
The entire story is worth a read, but the final paragraph, a quote from Rescorla's best friend, is one that has always stuck with me, and is representative of many who lost their lives that day.
"I've tried to tell Susan this, in a way, but she's not ready yet for the truth. In the next weeks or months, I'll get her down here, and we'll take a walk along the ocean, and I'll explain these things. You see, for Rick Rescorla, this was a natural death. People like Rick, they don't die old men. They aren't destined for that and it isn't right for them to do so. It just isn't right, by God, for them to become feeble, old, and helpless sons of bitches. There are certain men born in this world, and they're supposed to die setting an example for the rest of the weak bastards we're surrounded with."
Like the newsletter? Hate the newsletter? Feel free to drop me a line at ddefrancesco@businessinsider.com or on Twitter @DanDeFrancesco.
Citi's new boss breaks barriers
The big news of the day came out of Citigroup, which announced its CEO, Michael Corbat, was retiring effective February 2021.
That, in and of itself, would be a big story. But the bigger news was Corbat's replacement: Jane Fraser.
Fraser's soon-to-be appointment marks the first time a woman has been tapped to lead a major US bank. And while Fraser, who currently serves as president and CEO of Citi's consumer banking division, was pegged by many to eventually take the helm from Corbat, no one anticipated it would come this soon.
Graham Rapier and Reed Alexander have all the details, including some instant reaction from analysts.
Click here to read the full story.
Coatue's alt-data head is out after the firm's $350 million quant fund's trades broke down
Bradley Saacks and Alex Morrell have the scoop on the departure of $28 billion hedge fund Coatue's alt-data lead. Click here to get all the details on the people move.
Some of Wall Street's most prestigious banks no longer screen applicants for marijuana use. Here's where 7 of the largest firms stand on drug testing.
What a long strange trip it's been. In the wake of a recent NYC law banning employers from screening applicants for marijuana use, Jeremy Berke asked seven of the largest banks with major offices in the city what their policy was. Check out the list here.
Family offices salary data reveals how much the advisers to the world's wealthiest make, from investment analysts to CEOs
Family offices, where the wealthiest people in the world park their cash, aren't known for being transparent. However, Natasha Solo-Lyons and Rebecca Ungarino got their hands on salary data. Check out what a chief executive at a US family office can expect to pull in.
An inside look at how Cornell's investment banking training program readies MBA students on how to do a leveraged buyout analysis before they ever set foot on Wall Street
Bradley Saacks has the details on how Cornell's SC Johnson College of Business is prepping first-year MBA students who have plans to work as a summer associate at an investment bank. Read all about the unique program here.
Google Cloud just nabbed another former bank exec as it looks to compete with AWS and Microsoft Azure for Wall Street customers
Another day. Another former bank executive landing at Google Cloud. Read about the latest hire from the cloud provider, written by yours truly.
Top asset-management execs are gearing up for big tech revamps. Here's how they're thinking about budgets, hiring, and high-priority projects.
Asset managers aren't know for cutting-edge tech, but that could be changing. Rebecca Ungarino and I got a look at a recent survey about the state of play as far as asset manager's tech strategy.
JPMorgan Top Brass Tell Trading-Floor Staff to Come Back to the Office (WSJ)