Hi, Aaron Weinman here. Hiring between tech companies and Wall Street has been a see-saw in recent years. Graduates and seasoned executives shunned stable, well-paid gigs in banking and clamored for jobs at disruptive tech startups.
These sought-after folks were drawn to tech's laid-back, remote-work culture, and demurred at the thought of draconian return-to-work mandates put forward by banks.
Today I'll be looking into how that dynamic might be shifting as Wall Street firms seek thousands of tech workers this year.
Plus, Twitter has sued Elon Musk over his attempt to walk away from his $44 billion takeover – and the lawsuit is full of fiery accusations.
Let's get started.
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1. When it comes to talent, tech companies have munched on Wall Street's lunch for a while now. But that table might be turning. Volatile equity markets have sent tech firms' valuations south, venture capitalists' purse strings have tightened, and industry darlings — from at-home exercise bike phenom Peloton to the US' largest crypto exchange Coinbase — have laid off staff.
Tech's pain, however, is seemingly Wall Street's gain. The stage is set for banks to go all-in on tech hiring, and some aren't shy about their ambitions. Citi is betting on an armada of 4,000 new technologists to shore up its operations.
Goldman Sachs is also embracing a public-cloud strategy that has required partnering with and poaching from Amazon Web Services. The Wall Street giant also hired Alphabet's Jared Cohen to help start a new innovation group, CNBC reported on Tuesday. Cohen will report directly to Goldman Chief Executive David Solomon.
To be sure, Wall Street's desire to lure talent away from the deep-pocketed tech space isn't without its challenges. Tech staffers have grown accustomed to lofty salaries, equity options, and for the most part they're not restricted to the confines of an office.
Making the move to a big bank might come with a solid payday, but many would have to adjust to the regimented world of Wall Street, while a number of the country's largest firms have made it clear that they want their workforces back in offices.
Here's a look at how Wall Street's racing to nab more tech talent as Silicon Valley pumps the brakes on its own hiring ambitions.
- In case you missed it, here's 14 execs leading the cloud revolution at shops like Point72 and Citadel.
- Here's a rundown of JPMorgan's fintech acquisitions.
- And finally, check out this report on the neobanks and lenders, which are most at risk as funding dries up.
In other news:
2. Twitter has followed through with its promise to sue Elon Musk over his attempt to pull out of the $44 billion takeover. In a lawsuit filed Tuesday, lawyers for Twitter described Musk's reasons for backing out of the deal as "pretexts" that "lack any merit." Since Musk started his dance with Twitter, his net worth has dipped by $24 billion — and he stands to lose billions more.
3. Citadel Securities' Troy Kane started on a Chicago trading floor at just 14. Now he oversees derivatives at one of the biggest market makers on the planet. Here Kane breaks down how he climbed the ranks.
4. A Nexo co-founder is accused of walking away with millions in bitcoin after he was sacked. The crypto lender, however, has been fighting to get it back, new court documents reveal.
5. Credit Suisse has lost swathes of credit traders in the past few months, according to efinancialcareers. Most recently, the bank lost three managing directors and a director in high-yield trading who've gone to Barclays.
6. A senior Citi banker has been suspended pending allegations of misconduct, Bloomberg reported. Jan Skarbek, the co-head of Citi's banking, capital markets, and advisory business for the UK and Ireland, has been placed on leave while the bank investigates a complaint about comments that Skarbek allegedly made to a female employee.
7. Is the business lunch a thing of the past? Remote work and Zoom calls have pushed dealmaking to the digital world. Many upscale restaurants — including Wall Street favorite Bobby Van's steakhouse — are closing, according to the New York Times.
8. There's a method to capping CEOs' gargantuan salaries. Here's a way to limit large pay gaps and make it so it's sustainable over a long period of time.
9. While we're on the subject of CEOs and their wealth, this ice-cream truck is selling "Eat the Rich" popsicles. If you're in Los Angeles or New York — and feeling peckish — you can tuck into these sweet treats shaped like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.
10. Massachusetts Institute of Technology's curriculum is one of the best for MBA candidates. Here's the average salaries that MIT's Sloan School of Management 2021 graduates pulled in across various industries.
Done deals:
- Private-equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners has acquired a majority stake in supply-chain software company Unison from investment firm Carlyle.
- Corbett Technology Solutions — a Wind Point Partners portfolio company — has acquired Firecom, a fire-alarm company in New York City.
Curated by Aaron Weinman in New York. Tips? Email [email protected] or tweet @aaronw11. Edited by Hallam Bullock (tweet @hallam_bullock) in London.