Ken Moelis

Ken Moelis spent much of his career at UBS, where he built one of the most successful investment banking practices in the United States, serving as President of the Investment Bank. After leaving UBS in 2007, he founded Moelis & Company, choosing to start his own firm just months before the financial crisis — a timing that proved either fortunate or difficult depending on perspective. Moelis built the firm into one of the most prominent independent investment banking boutiques globally, winning major M&A and restructuring mandates including high-profile transactions during the 2008-2010 financial crisis restructurings. Moelis & Company went public in 2014. The firm's success demonstrated the viability of the independent advisory model, which competes with bulge-bracket banks by offering conflict-free advice and senior banker attention to large corporate transactions.