It is still safe to join Macquarie
If you were thinking of joining Macquarie Group in Europe, the sudden and unexpected departure of Benoit Savoret as CEO and head of EMEA less than one month after joining, may appear slightly off-putting.
At best, Savoret's departure is embarrassing for Macquarie, which trumpeted his arrival in March, saying he brought, 'significant depth' to the EMEA management team. Macquarie promptly removed the announcement when Savoret resigned.
At worst, Savoret's unexpected exit could derail Macquarie's EMEA aspirations.
Insiders say Macquarie is still engaged in big hiring in Europe, with recruiters confirming an ongoing push in equity research and investment banking. Among other things, the bank's currently advertising for FICC analysts, equities analysts, institutional salespeople, and corporate brokers. It's also made numerous hires in recent weeks, and acquired Sal Oppenheim's equities sales and research business.
The reality, however, is likely to be that Savoret's resignation is a one-off which will have limited impact on MacBank's hiring intentions, or its appeal as an employment destination. Despite losing out on a $16.2m payoff when he left Lehman, Savoret didn't really need to work - he earned $30m between 2006 and 2007 alone.
At some point soon, Macquarie will also need to find a Savoret replacement. When it announced his arrival in March, it said its existing European head - Andrew Hunter - would be returning to Australia during the course of the year. A spokesman for the bank said Hunter's departure remains on the cards.
