Ken Moelis to depart as CEO of $4.6 billion – Business News
Ken Moelis, who received his begin at a Michael Milken-run firm and later clinched mega offers at his own $4.6 billion boutique bank, plans to step down as chief govt of Moelis & Co. this 12 months, the firm stated Monday.
Moelis, 66, will tackle the position of govt chairman on Oct. 1, in accordance to a press release. He will proceed advising shoppers on this new place.
Navid Mahmoodzadegan, 56, co-founder and co-president of Moelis & Co, will exchange the CEO and be part of the bank’s board of administrators, whereas Jeff Raich, 58, the opposite co-founder and co-president, will change into the manager vice chairman.
Ken Moelis plans to step down as chief govt of his investment bank this 12 months. REUTERS
Shares within the boutique firm dropped 1.9% Monday morning.
Moelis informed the Wall Street Journal he expects to pull off the “smoothest transition ever in the history of Wall Street” – though the bank shares his title.
But the succession plans have been within the works for years, and Moelis has centered on coaching younger bankers, sustaining Moelis & Co’s staffing and strengthening relationships with shoppers.
His inheritor obvious, in the meantime, has been with Moelis & Co for the reason that very starting.
“As Co-President, [Mahmoodzadegan] has been involved in every major decision we have made and has been a key driver of our Firm’s most impactful strategic growth initiatives. He’s a unique talent and one of the best strategic advisors I have ever worked with,” Moelis stated in a assertion.
Moelis began his profession in 1981 at Milken’s Drexel Burnham Lambert, the junk-bond pioneer that later collapsed amid a securities fraud scandal.
Navid Mahmoodzadegan will succeed Ken Moelis as chief govt of Moelis & Co. Bailey Holiver-Imagn Images
There, he shaped relationships with entrepreneurs like CNN founder Ted Turner and resort billionaire Steve Wynn.
In 1990, when Drexel collapsed, Moelis moved to Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette. He stayed there for a decade, finally rising to head of company finance and advising big-name shoppers like a pre-presidential Donald Trump.
When Drexel was bought to Credit Suisse in 2000, Moelis left for UBS.
“It’s not easy to lose talent like Kenny. It’s not a positive thing for DLJ,” Trump stated on the time.
Moelis began his own firm in 2007 with Mahmoodzadegan and Raich, after the three had change into buddies at DLJ.
Ken Moelis (middle) smiles after ringing the bell to mark the company’s IPO on the ground of the New York Stock Exchange in 2014. REUTERS
Moelis & Co shortly scored a deal advising Hilton Hotels Corp. on its $26 billion sale to Blackstone Group, which was introduced in July 2007. The private-equity firm has since bought its stake within the resort chain.
As it confronted the financial disaster of 2008, Moelis & Co surprised Wall Street by setting off on a hiring spree – making the dangerous guess that firms would proceed bringing huge offers to boutique corporations as an alternative of bigger banks.
The firm went public in 2014, although Moelis held onto a supervoting stock and particular approval rights. A decide struck down some of these rights final 12 months.
Shares in Moelis & Co reached an all-time high close to $80 in February. But the stock is down about 20% to this point this 12 months as President Trump’s steep tariffs and sharp coverage adjustments have muted dealmaking.
Ken Moelis speaks during a panel session on the Qatar Economic Forum in May 2023. Bloomberg by way of Getty Images
Moelis’ firm has continued to advise main shoppers over the previous 12 months, together with Hailey Bieber’s skincare model Rhode, which just lately introduced a $1 billion deal to be bought to elf Beauty, and David Ellison’s Skydance Media, which has been pursuing an $8 billion acquisition of Paramount.
Boutique corporations like Moelis & Co raked within the second-highest share ever of merger-and-acquisition charges within the US final 12 months, in accordance to knowledge from LSEG.
“I’m not sure I would have guessed 20 years ago that this segment would be this large,” Moelis informed the Journal.
Both Moelis and Mahmoodzadegan stated they’re optimistic that this trend will proceed.
“It’s funny, you advise clients all these years to do things at the right moment…and this is the right moment for the firm,” Moelis informed the Journal on the timing of his departure.
Mahmoodzadegan and Raich had been promoted to co-presidents in September 2015 with future succession plans in thoughts.
The soon-to-be chief govt has drawn in main offers within the bank’s media, sports activities and leisure franchise, together with a sale of the Phoenix Suns and Mercury to Mat Ishbia, the billionaire chairman of mortgage lender United Wholesale Mortgage.
