BB vs Boutique VP

Ignore title. ASO2 now after A2A. Not sure how VPs or Directors operate at BBs, but based on my experience at EVR/MOE/LAZ, VPs are very in the weeds with us and rarely need detailed explanations for changes to a model or deck. Even Directors often jump directly into PowerPoint to make edits themselves rather than sending a long list of comments and/or asking for a walkthrough.

Of course, their primary responsibility isn’t building decks or models—it’s oversight and review. That said, on important client calls, VPs will often take the lead and handle higher-stakes client communications, while day-to-day workstream coordination (like asking company for data, reconciling numbers with finance teams, forwarding marked-up legal docs, etc.) is typically managed by associates and analysts.

In my experience, most VPs are far more focused on execution than on book-building or relationship management. That latter responsibility generally starts at the Director level, though it’s not unheard of for VPs to contribute meaningfully. I’ve seen one VP get promoted early to Director—and later fast-tracked to MD—after bringing in several deals while still a VP2-3.

Deal teams at EBs are always lean, never more than one person per rank, no matter how big the deal. As a result, VP/Directors who are fewer in headcount tend to be staffed on more deals (often ~1.5–2x when the office is very busy) than analysts or associates at any given time. At times there could be a deal with no VP or no D. 

Curious how this compares to the VP/Director role at BBs—does this dynamic differ meaningfully?