As we were approaching the 13th anniversary of 9/11, I kept remembering Frederick T. Varacchi. He was the former president, chief operating officer and director of eSpeed who was lost in the terrorist attacks upon the World Trade Center. I interviewed him several times in the late nineties and the year 2000 to get useful inside information for my sell-side trading and related stories.
First, I have to reference the words of Howard W. Lutnick from September 20, 2001, then the chairman and CEO of eSpeed, Inc., a key part of Cantor Fitzgerald. Cantor lost 658 employees on 9/11. (Cantor has since created BGC Partners and merged eSpeed with BGC in 2008.)
Lutnick said in 2001: “Fred was my friend and an extraordinary businessman, technologist and leader. His energy, vision and enthusiasm created eSpeed and brought the company to preeminent status. His wife Eileen and their three children can always be proud of their father’s accomplishments. eSpeed was Fred’s company and will always stand as a tribute to his amazing drive and charisma.”
I can attest to Fred’s generosity as far as granting access to a pain-in-the-neck journalist. Unlike others who work for incredibly demanding Wall Street firms, Fred always took my calls or responded to them quickly. He invited me to his beautiful office in 1 WTC and gave me tours of the eSpeed trading complexes. He also set up demonstrations of the systems that facilitated the electronic trading that eSpeed has become known for, and which helped Cantor recover after the attacks.
Eugene Grygo,
chief content editor,
FTF News
In the confusing days after 9/11, I was hastily assigned by an editor to call operations and IT executives from Wall Street firms to get some insight into the business continuity and disaster recovery strategies that firms were implementing. Inevitably, I had to reach out to eSpeed and, as I feared, I got the confirmation that Fred had been lost among the others at Cantor.
I was devastated. As the days unfolded after 9/11, I was to learn of others I knew who lost their lives. Some I once worked with and many others I had gotten to know well via my work as a reporter. I miss each and every one of them.
The world changed forever that day and we are still reeling from it.
I want to honor Fred and all the innocent people lost on 9/11 by trying to remember that strong sense of humanity that permeated the air in those days just after the horrors of the attack. I haven’t forgotten Fred’s generosity of spirit and I will strive to not be abrupt with people, to slow down and live in the moment a little, and to never lose sight of the good side of humanity.
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