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I received this article from Winkiebear the other day, it was published in the Chicago Tribune on Wednesday.. I think I will head to Wall Street to work...
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Executive assistants worth weight in gold
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By Landon Thomas Jr., New York Times News Service. Eric Dash contributed reporting to this article
March 2, 2005
NEW YORK -- On Wall Street, just about everything has its price, from the commission on a stock trade to the pay package of a top banker. But when it comes to securing the services of an ever-loyal, all-knowing executive assistant, the boss is often willing to disburse cash and a long list of perks--from unlimited credit at high-end hair salons to nannies.
After the recent disclosure that the executive assistant for Richard Grasso, the former chairman of the New York Stock Exchange, was paid $240,000 a year, the role of the executive assistant has drawn extra scrutiny.
But though her pay was cited as a totem of the culture of excess that Grasso cultivated at the exchange, there are examples of assistants earning packages that at least approach that level.
Executive recruiters say that pay for assistants--the vast majority of whom are female--to Wall Street chief executives may range from $100,000 to $150,000 in base salary, with a select few earning as much as $200,000. There also is the potential to earn a bonus in cash or equity of up to 30 percent of that amount. In addition, some executives pay another bonus out of their own pockets, rewarding their assistants for going beyond the call of duty to get a job done.
And it is not just on Wall Street. Wherever pay and egos collide, executive assistants stand to gain. During the Tyco International trial, for example, Mary Murphy, an assistant to L. Dennis Kozlowski, the former chief executive, has testified that she received a $700,000 severance package when she left the company in 1999.
Then there is the case of Jeffrey Epstein, who pays his three executive assistants more than $200,000 a year. A financier who manages the money of a small roster of billionaire clients, Epstein has an unusual philosophy about the utility of his three-woman executive team, who manage his hectic life of globetrotting.
Citing scientific studies, he calls them a "social prosthesis," whereby their intuitive knowledge of his needs and their 24-hour presence make them virtually indispensable to his success.
`Extension of my brain'
"They are an extension of my brain," said Epstein, who rarely talks publicly. "Their intuition is something that I don't have."
Accordingly, Epstein, who resides and works on a private island in the Virgin Islands but maintains an office in New York, does not stint in compensating them. In addition to the rich payday, he also ladles on the perks: He maintains a charge account at Frederic Fekkai, the society hair dresser, for their unlimited use and pays for all food eaten during his lengthy business hours, including takeout from Le Cirque. On trips on his Boeing 727, he frequently takes two of the assistants with him.
When one of his assistants, Lesley Groff, who is 38, became pregnant last year and talked of leaving, he bought her a Mercedes-Benz E320 to make her commutes easier and agreed to pay for a full-time nanny so that she could keep working for him.
"There is no way that I could lose Lesley to motherhood," said Epstein, who is in his early 50s and is single.
There are those on Wall Street who feel that it is hard to attach a true value to such people.
"They know everything and they eventually take over," said Michael M. Thomas, a former Lehman Brothers partner. Thomas retained his assistant for 16 years.
"You are paying for loyalty as well as indispensability," Thomas said. "Grasso took home $139 million and he paid the keeper of his secrets a quarter-million. That is a very small economy."
Loyal to the core
In Grasso's case, his assistant remained loyal to him. According to lawyers close to the case, the assistant, SooJee Lee, 38, was reticent about her boss when she was interviewed by stock exchange lawyers as they compiled a report on Grasso's pay, which totaled $192.9 million in compensation and paid pension benefits in his eight years as chief executive.
Their conclusions, released recently in what is known as the Webb report, noted that comparing the pay of Grasso as chairman of a self-regulated institution with that of the chief executives of big Wall Street firms was inappropriate; the report said he received $144 million to $156 million in excessive compensation.
The executive assistant has long been a crucial figure in the busy life of the Wall Street executive, but the relationship's nature has changed. In the more relaxed time of partnerships and privacy, they tended to be older, with a more circumscribed set of duties. With the increased pressure that came from firms going public, combined with the relentless beat of travel and ceremony, executives have started to attract a younger, more resilient breed of assistant to keep up with them.
They also have gone for quantity. Having two executive assistants is de rigueur for most executives these days. Drivers also are paid healthy sums on Wall Street. According to the Webb report, two of Grasso's drivers were paid $130,000 each. While that figure would seem high, executives and consultants say that many drivers on Wall Street, especially those with a law enforcement background, can command such a figure.
To be sure, the rest of corporate America is less generous. Recruiters say the average salary, not including bonus, for assistants outside of Wall Street ranges from $60,000 to $100,000 a year.
Multiple assistants
And a growing number of chief executives command the services of three full-time assistants who divvy up the tasks of fielding calls, typing letters, managing a schedule and other duties. Many have advanced degrees--Lee, for example, is a law school graduate--as well as other refinements: For a number of executives on Wall Street, an assistant with a posh British accent can add a touch of class.
"They are troubleshooters, amateur psychologists, travel consultants, and play a critical role in helping executives achieve personal and company goals," said Melba J. Duncan, president of The Duncan Group, a global headhunting firm for executive assistants. "They are there 24/7 and don't leave until they get the job done."
And there is a long history of chief executives marrying their assistants or attendants: Grasso's wife worked for a time before their marriage as his assistant at the exchange in the 1970s; his successor, John S. Reed, married the flight attendant on his corporate jet; financier Carl C. Icahn, and Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey K. Skilling, the former chief executives of Enron, also have married their assistants.
Getting such jobs isn't easy. Many came from search firms, but Epstein requires his assistants to submit to a test that he likens to a graduate exam. In some cases candidates submit a 20-page research report in which they demonstrate their communication and critical thinking skills.
Copyright (c) 2005, Chicago Tribune
Laura
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