Ex-Deutsche Bank Deals Chief Marcus Schenck Is Joining Perella
Ex-Deutsche Bank Deals Chief Marcus Schenck Is Joining Perella
(Bloomberg) -- Top investment banker Marcus Schenck, a contender to run Deutsche Bank AG until his departure in a shakeup this year, is charting a comeback at Perella Weinberg Partners LP, an underdog in European deals.
Schenck, 53, will join the New York-based firm’s advisory business as a partner effective Feb. 1, according to a statement Tuesday that confirmed an earlier Bloomberg report. He stepped down as Deutsche Bank’s deputy chief executive officer and head of its investment bank in April as then-CEO John Cryan left. At the time, Schenck was said to have disagreed with the bank’s direction.
“I’m not the type to sit on the bench,” he told a German newspaper a month later, vowing to return to the industry. “I really enjoy working and have a pretty clear idea of my future job -- just not signed a contract yet.”
Perella Weinberg, founded in 2006, is preparing for a potential initial public offering, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg in September. Its expansion efforts this year include its franchise in Europe, where it has snapped up talent such as Alex Wilmot-Sitwell, once Bank of America Corp.’s president for the region.
Founded by Wall Street veterans Joe Perella and Peter Weinberg, the New York firm competes with the world’s largest banks in advising on mergers and acquisitions, reaching 23rd place globally last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. But it has more room to improve in Europe, where it ranked No. 33. Schenck will be based in London and will focus on growing the business in Germany and Europe.
“Marcus is one of Germany’s most well-respected, experienced and senior executives,” Peter Weinberg said in the statement. “His addition underscores a significant period in the evolution of our German, European and global advisory franchises as we look to be the leading independent adviser to boards and executives.”
Losing Talent
Under Schenck, Deutsche Bank struggled to return its investment bank to growth. Still, it was among the top 10 advisers on corporate takeovers in Europe in 2017, the data show. The German lender, whose securities unit is now run by Schenck’s former co-head Garth Ritchie, has slipped outside that tier so far this year while losing senior investment banking-talent in the wake of its shakeup.
Departures include Tadhg Flood, co-head of Deutsche Bank’s global team of bankers advising financial-services clients. In the Americas, it lost Charlie Dupree, its top M&A dealmaker for the region, to JPMorgan Chase & Co., as well as dealmakers such as Jeff Rose to UBS Group AG.
Deutsche Bank hired Schenck in late 2014 from Goldman Sachs Group Inc., where he was head of European investment banking services. The Frankfurt-based lender installed him as its chief financial officer the following May.
A soccer fan with a hearty laugh, he took on increasingly greater roles at its investment bank, eventually becoming the first German to lead that business since the days of Josef Ackermann. He also rose to co-deputy CEO alongside Christian Sewing, who ultimately took the helm at the German lender as it struggled with a turnaround plan.
Before Goldman, Schenck was chief financial officer of German power producer EON SE. Perella Weinberg advised that company earlier this year on a 22 billion-euro ($25 billion) deal to buy a rival.
To contact the reporters on this story: Steven Arons in Frankfurt at sarons@bloomberg.net;Sonali Basak in New York at sbasak7@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Michael J. Moore at mmoore55@bloomberg.net, ;Dale Crofts at dcrofts@bloomberg.net, Christian Baumgaertel
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