Christopher Varelas

“The committee brought forth a new set of rules and rewards that would affect promotion and compensation, adopted with a simple goal in mind: to make Citi a better place to work. We knew we couldn’t compete with the other big firms on the basis of compensation alone. Sandy Weill was too stingy. People were paid just enough to keep them around, enough that it wouldn’t be worth the hassle of switching to another firm for a moderate increase in money. It was evident that if the firm had nothing to offer other than comp, then comp would become the sole factor in determining whether or not someone was happy at Citi.”
― Christopher Varelas, How Money Became Dangerous: The Inside Story of Our Turbulent Relationship with Modern Finance

“Roman orator Cicero understood this more than two millennia ago, when he said, “It is not by muscle, speed, or physical dexterity that great things are achieved, but by reflection, force of character, and judgment.”
― Christopher Varelas, How Money Became Dangerous: The Inside Story of Our Turbulent Relationship with Modern Finance