Zaoui & Co London

Also, what headhunter do they use?

Don’t know details firsthand but very solid elephant hunting shop and highly selective — comp should be of no concern, rather the sponsorship since this has become a lot more difficult overall... Fingers crossed 

Focusing on large cap and ultra large cap deals, all in the billions.   The infrastructure is not built for mid market deal flow, both pros & cons — simply a different business model similarly to Allen & Co and Robey Warshaw. Some ex [head of]’s who spun out and do a few deals a year, but one of them may be $40B with a fee of 40-100m

This should honestly not be your concern for the next 10-12 years at least…

With elite boutiques, it is not about some “obvious” (it’s never obvious and always political) partner track — then you are talking about an institution, not a small & specialized boutique.   It is about breaking into the industry while learning from top talent, who “have seen it all.” 

In 10 years, perhaps the place is a lot bigger — Perella and Moelis started the same way, to name only two. Allen & Co, CVP and Qatalyst aren’t large but everybody in the industry knows them and their reputation…

My advice to you is: focus on what you can control and what is relevant to you in the coming few career steps, not necessarily some endgame stuff right now as Prospect IB.   As for the rest, plenty of moving pieces to figure out along the way — secure an internship with any top shop, get a return offer, work in the industry for a few years, consider alternatives and opt in/out, plenty of years in between and then we are talking performance on VP/D and potentially an MD spot if you have a shot at solid revenue generation… not even at partner yet. Then 2-5 years of solid revenues and you have a shot.

As you can see, it may be wiser to think “where and how can I break into a top team?” / “how do I get good exposure and alternatives?” / “what culture would I prefer, bank or boutique?” / location / ….. those should be the question which are well within your (in)direct area or control. 
 

fingers crossed for the recruitment!

Yes,  multiple times... associate / vps are hard to recruit so those are the best times to move