Ken Moelis Plans to Step Down as CEO of His Investment Bank

(Bloomberg) -- Ken Moelis, who became one of the most recognizable dealmakers on Wall Street in his four-decade career, will step down as CEO of his boutique investment bank effective Oct. 1.
The 66-year-old banker will take on the role of executive chairman at Moelis & Co., the company said in a statement Monday. Co-President Navid Mahmoodzadegan will become chief executive officer and join the bank's board.
Moelis had been saying for years that he would step down before he turned 65 to focus more on mergers and acquisitions. Mahmoodzadegan and Jeff Raich, both of whom helped found the New York-based firm with Moelis, had been seen as potential heirs. Raich, the other co-president, is being tapped as executive vice chairman.
'I have never felt better about our firm and the opportunities ahead,' Moelis said in the statement. 'This is the right moment to elevate the next generation of leadership and create further opportunities for internal growth.'
Moelis's 65th birthday came and went in 2023, after he decided to pounce on what he called one of the best opportunities in his career to beef up his company's ranks. A wave of talent was unleashed after Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse collapsed two years ago. At the same time, larger rivals were retrenching amid a dealmaking slump.
Mahmoodzadegan is known as a hard-charging banker and a critical part of many Moelis growth initiatives, including pushing into sports transactions and deals with alternative-asset managers. He helped companies such as Expedia Group Inc. raise money during the Covid-19 lockdowns, and was involved in transactions including the purchase of Chelsea FC by a consortium led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital.
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,' Moelis said. 'He's a unique talent and one of the best strategic advisers I have ever worked with.'
The firm's shares are down 20% this year as an anticipated rebound in dealmaking failed to materialize. Moelis & Co. ranks 29th among advisers on announced mergers and acquisitions so far this year, down from 22nd last year.
Moelis set up his firm with Mahmoodzadegan and Raich in 2007, after quitting as the top Americas dealmaker at UBS Group AG and just before the subprime-mortgage meltdown plunged the global financial system into crisis. Moelis & Co. went on to aggressively build out its ranks and established outposts in London, Mumbai, Chicago and Dubai. It went public in 2014.
--With assistance from Sonali Basak.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com

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