Ken Moelis stepping down to Executive Chairman?

"Founder Ken Moelis, who has served as Chief Executive Officer since the Firm’s inception in 2007, will assume the role of Executive Chairman and will continue to focus on advising clients on their most critical strategic decisions. Navid Mahmoodzadegan, Co-Founder and Co-President, will succeed Ken as Chief Executive Officer and will also join the Board of Directors. Jeff Raich, Co-Founder and Co-President, will become Executive Vice Chairman of Moelis and will continue to lead key business areas of the Firm."

as per their recent press release. 

33 Comments
 

They will keep getting overhyped on places like WSO due to good exits, but as a career banker no reason whatsoever to go to a place like MOE. 

(1) You'll be working, for the most part, on subpar quality deals, (2) Comp will only be top if you grind like a maniac, (3) No brand recognition outside of finance (even an average BB like Barclays or Deutsche will be more known than a MOE, especially if you go international), (4) Ability to build a client book is limited at best (good luck building relationship with clients based on your "superior strategic advise"). 

 
Controversial

Ken's rolodex has been dwindling. I wouldn't be surprised if the firm will go bust in a couple of years, their only edge where they can truly compete on top mandates is in the media/entertainment space (RX too, but that alone won't be able to carry the firm. They need the M&A/strategic advisory side to lead things). Other than these fields, the firm scraps for mediocre MM or even LMM mandates

 
Most Helpful

Lol this forum is pathetic. Moelis stock hit ATHs less than 3 months ago. Revenue is up year over year. Headcount is at all time high. There have been multiple groundbreaking deals in the past year including Rhode, Nordstrom, Skydance, NY Giants, etc. Momentum in tech, healthcare, and RX. Exits are strong for most recent class. Ken isn’t even leaving – he’s just not going to be running day to day operations but will still meet with clients.

 

What a tool. Enjoy the MOE kool-aid bro. On the skydance deal there were like 20 advisors and the Nordstorm deal is decent, nothing more. Other than some media deals, MOE doesn't do any large-cap / prominent strategic work. Who tf are we fooling

 

Such a dumb comment lol. Rev is up YoY for most shops, same for stock price and headcount. Not clear how is that indicative of the overall trajectory of the firm post-Ken Moelis

 

The "Moelis is dead" comments, while the stock barely moves on the news, are pretty funny.

Anyone who's been listening to Ken over the years (and it's not hard if you have CNBC or YouTube) knows he's been slowly and carefully building the operation so that he could step away when it's ready to operate successfully without him being in the CEO chair.  Looks like he finally got it there. The news isn't surprising and that's why market reaction was muted.

 

No skin in the game here but why are Moelis analysts on this site so obsessed with being seen as a peer of Lazard? Reminds of when people at certain colleges try to associate themselves with what they see as the tier above lol.

 

Also no skin in the game as at another bank but I made the joke because laz analysts are probably desperate to see another similar EB on the decline (as they are)

 

It's news to me that Lazard is ahead of Moelis.  Are they?  RX group sure.  But where else is Laz that strong?  I think of them as equals at best, but honestly I don't keep up on the latest changes in rankings.  My view of Lazard is, it was strong decades ago but has been a lower end EB for a while.  

 

It’s not even like he’s leaving. He’s transitioning some management responsibilities to spend more time with clients. It’s probably good for the brand.

Moelis has never been my cup of tea - too many randos, low payout, high overheads. But Ken is a generationally great banker and it’s impressive what’s he’s built. 

 

Molestiae harum sed minima tempore excepturi. Nihil quis veritatis distinctio. Commodi odio laudantium ipsam atque. Molestiae nisi quos vero ipsam consectetur ad optio.

Maxime in ad vel qui natus maiores. Quo qui omnis nemo atque unde. Odit eum ut cum nihil qui voluptatem. Praesentium eum eos tempora temporibus.

Just say no to consulting
 

Qui sit cumque nemo qui asperiores in. Assumenda laborum sit eveniet sed vero quas. Officia ipsam corrupti quas a. Et in ad voluptatibus sed commodi similique.

Dolores quam odit sed nam excepturi. Rerum dolores quia amet impedit. Ut sunt perspiciatis et non et iste. Sed tenetur explicabo corrupti laboriosam aut aperiam eligendi est. Qui velit qui similique.

Rerum blanditiis beatae molestias animi est. Rem pariatur similique culpa sed id blanditiis.

Recusandae voluptate repellendus assumenda id ipsa. Quam excepturi voluptatem est repudiandae. Ut officia culpa non corporis maiores. Eum eum sequi aut cumque. Rem libero et officia perferendis.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2025 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 08 99.5%
  • Goldman Sachs No 98.9%
  • Moelis & Company 04 98.4%
  • Citigroup 11 97.8%
  • Houlihan Lokey 08 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2025 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 10 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company No 98.9%
  • RBC Royal Bank of Canada 03 98.3%
  • Houlihan Lokey 15 97.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2025 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 08 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Houlihan Lokey 11 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs No 97.8%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2025 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $321
  • Associates (60) $237
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (9) $210
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $167
  • 2nd Year Analyst (33) $166
  • 1st Year Analyst (100) $145
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (101) $103
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”