company town

Introducing Goldman CFO David ‘Bones’ Viniar

FINANCE
• Meet David “Bones” Viniar, the reclusive Goldman CFO who’s quadrupled profits in the last eight years. A graduate of Bronx Science, he sits at the top, surveying his domain, as CEOs come and go. [Financial News via DealBook/NYT]
• Stephen Feinberg’s Cerberus is clearly the hedge fund’s hedge fund: to help finance the firm’s acquisition of Chrysler, Feinberg roped in $100 million from at least four other top firms — and made them pay for the privilege. [Deal Journal/WSJ] • Another sign that we’re in the wrong business: Henry Kravis managed to ink an $8 billion buy-out, later back out of the deal, and then even got his bankers to step up and pay the penalties. [MarketBeat/WSJ]

MEDIA
• David Carr’s Monday column on NBC ads was itself obscured by an NBC ad. [WWD]
MSNBC confirmed its post-Imus lineup, leaving former manager Dan Abrams in the 9 pm slot and letting Joe Scarborough take over permanently for the I-man in the morning. [NYP]
• Paul Muldoon showed up for his first day at The New Yorker, a little more disheveled than Alice Quinn but not much taller. [Gawker]

LAW
• As Melvyn Weiss tries to stay with his firm despite the recent indictment, it’s clear that he isn’t just going down with the sinking ship — he’s taking the ship down with him. [Legal Pad/Fortune]
• A new study shows there’s no correlation between what classes law students take and how well they do on the bar. “So taking Secured Transactions really has no redeeming qualities after all.” [Freakonomics/NYT, Above the Law]
• Duval & Stachenfield, a small but up-and-coming New York firm, came up with a new plan to attract talent while keeping clients happy: start associates at $60,000, recruiting top students from second-tier schools and second-tier students from top schools, and then bump those who survive up to full market rates after three or four years. [The Recorder]

FASHION
• Karl Lagerfeld shot Vahina Giocante for Playboy’s October issue. No word if she was wearing nothing but Chanel gloves. [Fashionologie]
• Lars Nilsson is succeeding Gianfranco Ferre and will show his first collection in January. [WWD]
• Brace yourselves: Courtney Love’s doing a fashion line. Somewhere, Gianni Versace is rolling in his grotto. [The Fashion Informer]

Introducing Goldman CFO David ‘Bones’ Viniar