No, an associate at PJT did not empty noodles over an MD's head
If you're an overworked junior banker, 2025 has already been a worrying year. Carter McIntosh, a 28-year-old associate in Jefferies' technology media and telecommunications team, died in late January. The cause of his death remains unknown, but there are unconfirmed allegations that he'd worked long hours.
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Following McIntosh's death and that of Leo Lukenas, an associate at Bank of America last year, people like Mark Moran, a former Centerview associate, have been campaigning for the unionization of junior bankers. Now, there's a rumour that an associate in the industrials team at boutique firm PJT Partners has taken matters into his own hands by emptying a bowl of ramen over a shouting managing director's head.
It's not true.
A spokesperson for PJT informs us: “This anonymous rumor is fictitious.” Sources at PJT say they have heard nothing of it.
Working hours at PJT Partners can be long compared to other banks. Wall Street Oasis, the forum which aired the rumour, puts average weekly hours at PJT at 80.4 per a week. Five years ago, a vice president there complained that juniors didn't promptly respond to his email at 3am. PJT pays people generously for these pains: last year, average compensation there was $900k.
Poor behaviour among managing directors is less tolerated than it once was. Edward Ruff, a former Citi managing director, left the bank last year after allegedly shouting at junior bankers so loudly that a fellow MD intervened. Ruff recently resurfaced at Cabrera, a minority owned bank where juniors seem rare and where he will be safe from retaliatory actions.
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