You’re sitting in the head trader’s chair after the markets close, looking through resumes for the next (newest) member of your desk. The candidates all look good to you: excellent experience with strong track records, good stories about their determination and drive to be a great trader, plenty of phone calls, emails, and efforts to network.
Flipping through the stack, you pause when you look at one of the prospect’s work history:
“Equities Trader, Enron Corporation, May 1997—September 2001.”
You stare at it. What do you do?
One side of you says, “He’s still licensed. Just because he was there doesn’t mean he’s a crook. And in its heyday, those traders made more money than anybody else. They’re hyperaggressive and had the results to prove it. Why not give him a chance to make the money legally?”
“And if he does anything funny, guess who’s going to take the blame for not supervising closely enough?” says the other side. “The regulators are going to kill you. You’ve got a bunch of other guys to watch and monitor. Would having him on your desk be more trouble than it’s worth?”
You lean back in your chair with yur hands behind your head. You’re almost positive that other desks must have hired former Enron traders after that firm went bust. Did anything happen to them? After all, it was quite a while ago now…
You’re a trader, trained to evaluate risk. Would you take this one?
What do you do with the former Enron trader’s resume? Shred it, or save it?
LOL in this kind of fucking economy?! in this kind of economy where there are guys standing on the corner of 56th and broadway with posterboards that read "UNEMPLOYED MIT ENGINEERING GRAD. PLZ HIRE ME"?? in this kind of economy where there is more genius and talent than there are available spaces? in this kind of economy where guys who would normally be making $300k would totally work for free doing the same shit just to have a shot at full time employment??
is that even a question?
reject his ass.
A lot of Enron traders are now working at Centarus Energy (John Arnold's energy trading fund), which is one of the most successful hedge funds in the world, so yes I would absolutely hire him. Anyways, you have compliance for a reason. It's not like Enron traders are the only ones on Wall Street who have ever done something illegal...
not true at all.... maybe 10 tops...
Save it. As long as he didn't work for Al Qaeda, I'll hire anyone who's qualified. Plus, you don't realize how smart those Enronites are. I've seen geniuses.
The Most Interesting Man in the World?
Ask for a reference. He must've done something for the past 10 years.
What if they worked for the Saudi Binladin Group?
In a heartbeat. At the time they had some of the smartest guys out there (probably smarter than an MIT grad who can't get a job). And most of the traders weren't crooks. Some were real assholes, but its not the traders who are sitting in jail.
You serious? John Arnold is a BOSS. Let's be real. I wish I worked at Enron...but they didn't hire 11- year olds.
I've worked multiple jobs in the energy industry in Houston and I can tell you that former Enron guys are everywhere. There were some very talented people that worked at Enron, and when it went down other places were obviously eager to hire them. It's not viewed as a black mark.
You're essentially judging a book by its cover. Granted most Enron traders were evil crooks. But I have yet to meet an honest Trader who makes his money in a 100% moral way.
How is this even a question? Those Enron traders were some of the best traders in the world at the time. As long as the guy doesn't have a criminal record, you should at least interview him and see what he's about.
For graduates of undergrad and MBA/masters programs at the time, Enron was Google+Goldman.
Yeah, this is right. The traders at Enron back then pretty much all got into HBS. It was easily one of the most coveted places to work at; i guess the appropriate analogy now would be blackstone private equity, paulson, de shaw.
Also, weren't the crooks trading energy contracts (that they valued with their own self serving models)? If this guy was an equities trader, there was much less room for shenanigans. The reason those guys raped the energy market is because (1) they created it, and (2) nobody regulated it.
They were working for a massive criminal conspiracy masquerading as a legitmate corporation.
Leanest, meanest traders on earth + Texas energy equivalent of the mob = massive profits
Followed by the largest blowout ever. The stocks go up, and then they come down. Ouch
Enron traders were fucking baller.
Burn baby, burn!
EDIT: My apologies for being ignorant.
AZNmonkey, you literally have no idea what you are talking about STFU - everybody knows that Enron traders basically invented the business so why wouldnt they put it on their resume - I am going to assume you are still in high school because you are so naive
Lol, hiring some one with a 10 year old firm that went bankrupt thinking he was a rain maker.
No wonder why trading revenue is down. LOL
Compare Enron alumni to Drexel Burnham Lambert alumni. Tons of today's top high yield pros were at DBL, because DBL basically was the sell side of that market. Doesn't mean you 86 the resume; does require reference checking and a pointed question in the interview.
The equities desk at Enron wasn't exactly point of the spear, though. You would get all the concerns of someone who spent four years in an ethically challenged environment without the upside of someone who was part of creating the energy trading market.
Enron traded equities? Wtf? Really? Lol
Depends entirely on what he did in the 11 years after that (if its good- then his Enron history improves his profile, if its bad- then his Enron history worsens his profile).
e.g. have a northwestern pedigree following a stint at bridgewater and you start to think "northwestern grads are impressive", have it preceed a stint at a no-name boutique in a small town and you start to think "so what, northwestern isn't that impressive".
being an alum of th crooked e or dirty d is still great to have on your resume. i have worked for an ex enron trader going on six years now
I'd interview him first LOL
The success of Enron had more to do with the fact that they cornered the energy market. The traders were basicly working exclusively on inside information. Its akin to Exon going out and buying up 80% of the oil market and then starting a oil trading desk. Since they basicly control the oil supply their traders can make tons of easy money.
Heister, that makes more sense than that all of them were complete geniuses. Some yes but rest were brats exploiting an opportunity - nothing more.
thats a bit much but they were def the best in the biz in that time frame
What exactly do you all think Enron did that was so unethical? I am not talking about accounting and balance sheet tricks. I am strictly talking the natural gas and power traders. Really I would like to know.
I dont think they did anything wrong. What was wrong was lying about their performance to the investing public. Is what Google and Facebook do with our info fair or illegal? Maybe/Maybe not but being a market leader does provide power in being the first in any given market. Enron was the first to change the face of energy trading
Seriously, educate yourself.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_electricity_crisis
Should I even bother? Maybe monty or someone else will. They created a spot market for power/gas that has allowed so much efficiency you would not know. Just like Marc Rich created a global sport market for Crude 20 years before.
By the way if your seriously going to bring up CA and how the traders had no mercy, at least use the FERC and other ISO studies done by PhD professors who explain why CA did not work and all loopholes CA themselves allowed because of their stupid rules.
So when PIMCO hired Greenspan and bought GSE bonds in 2008 and made a ton of $$$ was that wrong too? When Paulson shorted MBS's and sold to moron MBS PMs was that wrong too? When PTJ shorted the 1987 market to death and killed it was that wrong too? When Soros took down the pound because of the stupid government actions was that wrong too? When Einhorn shorted the shit out of Lehman for being a shitty company and tons of people lost their jobs and pensions, was that wrong too?
Or is it just energy traders that are evil?
As for their innovations, I'm reading up on those points now. I'm not a trader, but may go that route at some point not to far down the line, so I have to start learning about this kind of thing. Thanks
The head of hedge fund audit at a Big 4 is the former head of audit at AA and hes doing well so...yes.
Enrononline alone changed the industry. Think Ice before ice was huge.
People stick up for them cause the head of most power groups are ex enron or dynergy
YOUR ALL FUCKING MAD!! I CAN'T BELIEVE THE PRAISES I AM HEARING FOR ENRON FOR ITS SUCCESS.
ENRON WAS COOKING THE BOOKS, THEIR REVENUES WERE FICTITIOUS, THEY CORNERED THE ENERGY MARKET BASED ON ILLEGAL MATTERS. THEY WERE BAD TRADERS AND CROOKS AT THE BEST.
IF YOU COULD RIG THE MARKET AND CHEAT THE SYSTEM, ITS NO SURPRISE THEY DID WELL. BUT ITS NOT BECAUSE THEY ARE THE BEST, ITS ONLY BECAUSE THEY ARE CROOKS AND LOOK WERE THEY ARE NOW YOU FUCKING IDIOTS.
ehhhh. Man that exhausting. God you are all fucking stupid.
head of jp and db are ex enron... sure a ton more i am not remembering... you are the idiot
Simple. Give the person an interview. After that, it is up to the individual to convince me to hire, just like any other candidate.
Would I look down on their past at Enron? No. Would I demand they act in an ethical manner as an employee of my company? Absolutely.
This is business people, we are all here to make money, anyone who says otherwise is full of shit. You hire the best people you can afford. This isn't your moms PTA or book club meeting you are recruiting people for.
Is this a fucking joke? You guys would actually contemplate hiring a trader from a company riddled with fraud? Jesus.
If you plan on working on the energy desk at any investment bank or major energy firm you wil be managed by ex enron, dynergy, coastal folks so get use to it.
I bet if we compared age with point of view here we would see a trend in the older and more experienced you are, the more acceptable you would be to hiring someone with this past history on their resume..
Not even talking crap about anyone's views, just stating I feel like that would be the trend.
people trading power and nat gas will share the same views
In Germany every investment banker says that the personality is the best criteria. If I quote most of inverstment bankers I have met since college: If you were good at school or not, doesn´t matter. You may not be an asshole and you don´t have to be smart. Even if you are really smart, but your personality sucks, then you will never get a job as investment banker.
Now the reality:
The former Lehman Brothers CEO, Richard Fuld works currently as a consultant at B.C.G. He may work home, but his salary is higher than any other consultants.
B.C.G. hired him even if he is a crook and a motherfu****.
The former Deutsche Bank trader, Greg Lippmann should be unfriendly to his co-workers. But what was the reason that he could continue working there even if he was well know as an arrogant Ba****?.
It is about whether you can make money with him and not about whether you can work with him.
I would look at his performance and decide if I can make a huge profit with him.
^ agree. This is a lot like when the US hired the SS after the end of WW2 - everyone KNEW they were fucking bastards, but they were useful intel against the Soviets. A few misguided people trusted them, and a few others tried to rationalize it, but the truth is that people are just doing what works.
Personally, I'd question why the guy is looking for a job. If Enron people are that good, and that connected, why is this particular guy applying for anything? Shouldn't he be running a group somewhere?
so good connected people dont interview for jobs?
Kind of a silly question given the fluidity of markets, and all industries really. Something that might be an amazing opportunity today that demands creme of the crop talent (i.e. in this case we're assuming former Enron traders were that) might be bust in 5-10 years, through no fault of any one talent. Sometimes macro economic forces sink the ship no matter how talented your crew is.
So, you're either suggesting (probably with irony) that Enron expats are either so awesome that anyplace they work will be forever profitable, and thus why would they leave? Or you're suggesting that they're so awesome they can just pick any new job they please without interviewing. Obviously either of those scenarios is redonkolous.
wow, you're reading waaaaay too much into that
I know nothing about energy trading, nor do I know anything about the level of Enron's talent during its heyday, but to those who are implying OP should just reject the ex-Enron trader solely on the basis that he worked at Enron, as if to say all 22,000 or so employees partook in the fraud, I don't know what to say. I guess McDonalds should just outright reject all the applications of janitors that scrubbed bathrooms at Enron as well, huh?
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