Centerview for Associates

Have looked at quite a few threads on this little known firm here, but most of the content is either oriented towards Analysts or the information seems a bit dated.

Anyone have any real insight into the Associate/Principal experience at the firm, and what actually makes this place the “best” for “career bankers”? Looking for information on the actual apprenticeship model (or whatever you want to call it) vs. “they work on the biggest deals”.

 

Similar concept applies - it's the best platform to do "strategic advisory" not M&A. Your work experience will differ greatly there and because of their model the hours can be better and the work can be more appealing (assuming you like strategic advisory). 

 

Thanks for that context. Any color on what kind of work that actually translates into? I’ve heard the day-to-day, non-M&A work can be more consulting-oriented, but that could mean a lot of things.

 

Building a financial model for them and answering random questions. Questions about the industry, landscapes, case studies, etc. which the grunts field, or more strategic dialogues which the seniors could field (oversimplifying but that's basically what it is).

 

Not sure what you mean by "'strategic advisory' not M&A" -- they do long-term strategy work but that's more of a supplement / lead-in to the M&A transaction work. To say they don't do M&A or imply they are less qualified on the execution relative to any other bank is ridiculous. 

For OP: from a mentorship angle, CVP's experience is pretty differentiated. Seniors actually care about your development and project staffing is very intentional (vs. ad hoc). You are given a lot more bandwidth and ownership of your work product but given how lean they run, will have to play up and down depending on the circumstances. Much more collaborative than any other firm and no such thing as "analyst work" (good and bad thing, as an associate).

For "career" bankers, since they have ongoing strategic dialogue with all of the largest companies, you get to benefit from the institutional relationships and begin to develop your own with the senior decision makers of those companies. This increases your network for banking and exit opps if you wanted to (see the associate who left to be head of corp. strategy for Kraft Heinz). Would be remiss to not mention the pay, which basically tops any other career option.

Source: alumni and roommate work there

 
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That could suck, but from other threads it seems like Principals 4/5 are pulling in close to $1mm, if not $1mm+. If you get cut at the best shop on the planet at that fairly senior level, you’ve already made a ton of money and likely have a killer network that will go to bat for you, so you either go somewhere else down field or move to corporate.

Reality is not everyone is gonna bat cleanup on the Yankees, but there are plenty of strong players on teams like the Brewers and Twins, they’re still in the majors, and they do just fine for themselves as well. Life could be worse I suppose.

 

If you are an overpaid VP/Principal who only knows how to craft Kraft strategy documents, no legit banks need you to lead their coverage expertise. It’s hard to transition at that level to begin with, even worse if you weren’t built to be a coverage guy. That’s a problem for most boutiques, but think even more acute at Centerview for the way the place is designed. $1mm is nice, but it’s not $3-5mm nice, especially as a life time execution guy. 

 

CV is a good place. Have had nice interactions with them. Seem to work on good deals and seem to get good results for their clients. Would think it’s a nice place to work

 

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