How Not To Quit Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs Group Inc., the frequent target of criticism for its aggressive pursuit of profits, again found itself in a harsh spotlight Wednesday when a London-based executive resigned from the firm in a New York Times opinion piece that assailed the firm's culture as "toxic and destructive."

The executive, Greg Smith, wrote that he was resigning from Goldman on Wednesday after 12 years with the firm because of a shift in the firm's culture that allegedly puts profits ahead of client interests. The attack was quickly rebuffed by the firm, but not before Smith's piece became a flash point on Twitter and elsewhere.

Smith—who described himself as executive director and head of the firm's U.S. equity derivatives business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa—said Goldman executives talk openly about ripping off their clients, who he said sometimes are referred to internally as "muppets." He wrote: "It makes me ill how callously people talk about ripping their clients off."

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