I recently had lunch with a charming mole, who took me to the Savoy Grill. This was once a legendary meeting place for the power crowd. It has now been refurbished and is run by Gordon Ramsay.
To me, the crowd seemed less powerful: a sprinkling of CEOs and a surfeit of more mundane, middle-ranking executives munching on expense accounts.
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However, at the next table, I spotted a grey-haired, glum-looking gentleman. “It’s odd,” I mused to Mole. “That chap looks a bit like a much older version of Mike Sherwood (co- head of Goldman Sachs International). Mole laughed. “Abigail,” he said. “Welcome to 2011. That is Woody himself.” Sherwood, who has spent most of his career at Goldman Sachs – rising through the ranks of the fixed income, currency and commodities division – owns a lot of Goldman stock. One source estimates the share stack at close to $40 million.
Perhaps that’s why Sherwood looked so gloomy. After all, Goldman’s share price has declined by more than 40% from its $175 peak in January.
By the way, it’s worth pointing out that most bank employees now receive a lot of stock as part of their compensation. All plans awarded in early 2011 must now be severely under water.
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