Tue 11 Mar 2008
Fortune editor Bethany McLean ‘92 writes on Goldman Sachs and CEO Lloyd Blankfein
Over the past few months Fortune had the chance to learn of Blankfein’s worries and visions for Goldman firsthand, giving us an unusually personal view of the man who has the daunting job of sustaining Goldman’s winning streak in an increasingly treacherous market. What we saw was partly what you’d expect - a stunningly smart, demanding, and competitive executive at the top of his game - but also a surprisingly thoughtful, self-reflective leader with a wicked sense of humor. “Anything I haven’t asked about?” I say at one point in our conversations. “Virgo, blue,” he shoots back. (It took me a moment to figure that out, which probably explains why I left Goldman Sachs in 1995, after working as an analyst for three years.) Of course, the joke goes only so far. As a former Goldman executive puts it, Blankfein is “funny and self-deprecating and can reach across the table and rip your throat out when it’s warranted.”
Fun stuff. Alas, no mention of the critical role played by Mike Swenson ‘89 in allowing Goldman to make so much money in 2007. Note the high quality of McLean’s prose and the way she ties the start and finish of the article together so nicely. Associated interview with McLean here.
Ronit wants more Bethany. We give him more Bethany.
March 11th, 2008 at 8:26 am
At one time the defensive position which today is called nose tackle (NT) was called middle guard (MG) - the player who ordinarily in an “odd” defense plays opposite the center in a balanced offensive line. The change in nomenclature took place in the late 60s to early 70s. Incidentally a middle guard from Williams and Columbia doesn’t sound very tough.
March 11th, 2008 at 11:48 am
Frank,
Something funny going on here. You must have meant for this comment to go on to the Spitzer/Constantine post…
and also, there is zilch when one clicks on to Ronit’s comment re Eph Viking…
March 11th, 2008 at 11:52 am
Thanks Frank, appreciate the insight.