Wall Street Maverick

Musings on a Career of Innovation, Derivatives, Credit, and Risk

by Thomas Jasper

IN THE WALL STREET boom of the 1980s and 1990s, fortunes were made, markets were invented, and the rules were still being written.

Where others saw risk, Tom Jasper recognized opportunity, but never at the expense of his ethical code. Wall Street Maverick is as much the story of Jasper’s contributions to derivatives, swaps, and credit markets as it is the story of a career defined by adaptability, curiosity, and a willingness to operate on the edge. He navigated steep learning curves to thrive in a highly competitive—and sometimes cutthroat—environment.

This is no typical Wall Street memoir. It is, instead, a front-row account of how one modern financial market was built, told by a man who helped build it.

At the start of his career, Jasper stumbled into Lower Manhattan and seized opportunities to transform his trademark high risk tolerance into innovation. He recounts building and running Salomon Brothers’ successful interest rate swap desk (one of the largest in the industry), helping found and co-chair the ISDA by uniting fiercely competitive market participants, and later creating new credit default swap distribution models at Primus Guaranty.

Innovation, however, never came without danger. Jasper writes candidly about navigating scandal, global crises, and the 2008 financial meltdown—surviving by staying flexible, surrounding himself with exceptional talent, and never losing his moral compass as he walked the tightrope between risk and respect for the bottom line.

Wall Street Maverick offers a rare, honest look at building a career—and an industry—on the knife’s edge between risk and reward.