Day: August 5, 2007

This NYTimes article provides the most detailed account of a firing I’ve ever read in a paper. Warren J. Spector at Bear Stearns got the boot because his unit controlled the hedge funds that imploded a few weeks back. The first hint that it’s a weird article is the description of the firing:

Sitting behind his half moon desk on which stood computer terminals and a large metal-box lighter, Mr. Cayne broke the news to Mr. Spector that he wanted his resignation.

Seemed like a little more info than we needed. Then it began exploring the two men’s history with the game of bridge:

Indeed, with Mr. Spector’s own talent for bridge — he achieved the rank of life master at age 16 in 1974 — and his expertise in all varieties of bonds, it was widely assumed that Mr. Cayne would pass on the reins to Mr. Spector. (The two men’s devotion to bridge is highlighted by the fact that they both attended the North American bridge championship in Nashville late last July, at a time of increasing turmoil in the credit markets.)

But while bridge might have functioned as a bonding agent between Mr. Cayne and his predecessor, Alan C. Greenberg, it could not do the same for Mr. Spector — especially in the wake of the hedge fund meltdown at the firm’s asset management division.

Did I mention there’s too much detail?

In part this was a function of their sharply different personalities. Mr. Cayne is a raw, cigar-chomping man who embraces the scrappy, street-fighting ethos of the firm. Mr. Spector, who wears his thick head of hair longer than that of the standard banker, has more of suave, relaxed affect.

I guess the big question is: which guy’s the better bridge partner?

(Update: The WSJ article on Spector’s firing adds even more details, including the facts that he “wears black-rimmed glasses and maintains a trim physique”. . . and that he attended St. John’s College, where I got my master’s degree)