I saw the post about Steve Schwartzman becoming the head of LB M&A at 31 recently and someone commented that isn’t possible in today’s world. That’s probably true, but do you think it’s still possible to become an MD by 30?
| +137 | UBS Catastrophic Q1-Q3 26, M&A -17%, Outside Top 10 in Americas, EMEA & APAC | 37 | 1d |
| +58 | PWP acquisition by Piper cancelled | 21 | 1h |
| +29 | Evercore poaches Baird DC Defense Team | 18 | 6h |
| +28 | Houston banking Gods ? | 16 | 2d |
| +21 | Best Houston Banks for Culture in 2026 | 14 | 3h |
| +18 | Normal for lateral process to go +2 months? | 4 | 1d |
| +17 | Internal lateral from coverage to M&A (focused on coverage) | 4 | 11h |
| +15 | How standard is weekend work in IBD? | 6 | 2d |
| +15 | Discussion Transaction Experience in Lateral Interviews | 3 | 3d |
| +15 | Ducera Insights? | 3 | 2d |
Career Resources
Get instant access to lessons taught by experienced private equity pros and bulge bracket investment bankers including financial statement modeling, DCF, M&A, LBO, Comps and Excel Modeling.
Get an internship first
Look at the Forbes 30 for 30 and you mostly see VP's at 29. I think director at a no name shop would be possible but extremely rare at a BB.
^ Probably correct, though I don’t think its super rare to see directors (at BB/EB) assuming graduate college at 22 and analyst + associate 6 years and vp for 3 years its possible to hit director by 30. But the norm would probably be 33-34 for post MBA grads
Accelerated promotes mean analyst + associate can be 5 years, even seen a couple guys that did it in 4
I think there are also a few that graduate early and have an extra year or two in the work force before 30.
Possible? Yes. Probable? No, extremely rare. I’ve seen it more in S&T than M&A type roles. I’ve also seen the “equivalent” of MD at larger asset management firms, pension funds, and hedge funds. I know two people who stick out who made it there by I think 29, one was in trading at a BB with previous HF experience, the other was at an asset management firm.
Thanks mate, that makes sense.
its possible if you go to medical school
There’s a old post in WSO detailing the roadmap to MD. It doesn’t take 9-10 years
Do you have that link? Can we get a bot on this?
https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/some-observations-from-an-md
How long do you think it takes?
I would say 15-20 but if you're thinking long-term, career wise, that's not long; at all.
It's near impossible at a BB in IBD, you'd need to be a rainmaker in a specific niche in S&T or structured products.
Fastest I've seen at a BB is an MD at 32~33 who was specialised in one type of complex swap-based products and roped in tons of fees for the firm for several years
In IBD fastest guy I know made ED at 30 ( 2y AS > 2yr VP>ED), he was bringing in large clients at his shop as an associate
I feel like there is also something like family connections that come into play too.
Pretty much this and a combination of knowing your stuff.
I know someone who personally did it at ~31 I believe but was more of a niche group. If it were to happen would most likely be a product group.
At my bank, there's a guy who made it to MD by 30/31 and ran his (small) group about three years later (2018). Afterwards, he was moved out of IB and is pretty much known as being on an accelerated senior leadership track
Can you talk about the type of bank you work at? MM? Boutique? EB?
Wasn't there an absolute superstar at Goldman who made MD at 27 then Partner at 32?
You might be referring to Eric Mindich? He made partner at 27 and I believe he made C-suite around his early thirties. He was on the risk arbitrage trading desk so not IBD
Quidem et consectetur qui eum repellendus et iste. Culpa beatae eos deleniti in voluptatem optio et. Corporis dolor nihil vel voluptas id.
Amet consequatur et voluptatem ipsum. Ut reprehenderit ullam iusto quibusdam. Et ab odit et accusantium dolorem commodi repellat. Nihil at quas dolores ut.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Nemo molestias dolore iure possimus maiores dolorem qui dolorum. Sed vel nihil quisquam atque ex tempora deserunt. Cum repellat ipsa ducimus rerum id est magnam. Expedita ut est dignissimos similique qui. Ratione aut quam iure odio. In cum qui omnis.
Ut dolor at quod id rerum. In non modi non laboriosam quod. Sapiente aut rerum tempore expedita vel libero.