THE BEST QUOTE FROM STEVEN HANDLER’S MEMO by Steven Towns
On Monday (Sept. 8), The New York Times’ DealBook carried a memo from Jefferies’ top brass, Richard Handler and Brief Friedman, addressed to the firm’s senior bankers concerning the treatment and talent cultivation of junior bankers. As a Leucadia (NYSE: LUK) shareowner — Leucadia acquired Jefferies in early 2013 — this was a refreshing memo and another instance in which I believe Handler means what he says. I became a Leucadia shareowner via the Jefferies acquisition because in November 2011 I was convinced after reviewing Jefferies financial statements and trusted Handler’s statements (not to mention his transparency) that there was scant evidence to support the amateurish and whorish short smear of Jefferies (whose shares quickly fell by ~50% out of fear the i-bank was another shitshow à la MF Global).
You can see the DealBook story here and the best quote from Richard Handler’s memo directly below:
Quite frankly, we should all wonder if we could get ourselves into our firm today if we were competing heads up with all of them.
Ruminate on that. Managers and executives regardless of industry or sector, should ruminate on that and for the real a**holes that went to good schools, apply the same question.
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