Ex-London bankers now thriving at client firms

It's not just junior bankers who are getting burned out working long hours in the current frenetic dealmaking environment. Senior bankers are overworked too - and as one executive director pointed out to us earlier this month, they don't benefit from any of the protections offered to juniors. 

Senior bankers hoping for a respite from the relentlessness, will be pleased to know that there is an alternative. They could leave and work for client firms. Counterparts who've done this recently appear to be thriving.

Laurent Charbonnier is a case in point. After eight years as HSBC's global head of metals and mining, Charbonnier left HSBC (possibly not voluntarily) late last year. He subsequently joined Sibanye-Stillwater, a precious metals mining company, as executive vice president for business development. A mere six months later, he's been promoted to chief commercial and development officer at the same firm.

Alternatively, take Daniel Aharoni, the former TMT managing director at Barclays who left last November to work for a mystery client. Aharoni's client has now become apparent: he's joining computer chipmaker Alphawave IP, which is pursuing a $4.5bn IPO in London. Presumably Aharoni will receive some stock, and presumably this will more than compensate him for walking away from his job at Barclays in the years to come.

In the hope that the next bonus round will be exceptional, not everyone will want to walk away from banking jobs this year. But for those who decide it's all too much, there is an alternative. "I think all executive directors and managing directors are pushing 80+ hours a week now and are working weekends," the executive director told us a few weeks ago. Clients tend to be a bit easier going. 

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