Founder, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Chief Executive Officer
Moelis & Company
Ken Moelis is the Founder, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of Moelis & Company. Ken has over 40 years of experience both as an investment banker and an executive, having served in various significant leadership roles where he has been responsible for the innovation and growth of franchises across the industry.
Prior to founding Moelis & Company, Ken was President of UBS Investment Bank and previously, Head of Corporate Finance at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette. Ken began his investment banking career at Drexel Burnham Lambert.
Ken holds a B.S. in Economics and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a member of the Business Council and the Business Roundtable, and currently serves on the Wharton Board of Advisors and the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center Board of Advisors. He was formerly Board Chair and Director of the Tourette Association of America and served on the Board of Trustees at the University of Pennsylvania for 10 years.
Partner
Kirkland & Ellis
Edward Sassower serves on the Firm’s Executive Committee and is a partner in the Restructuring Group. He focuses on representing debtors, creditors and distressed or special situation investors in bankruptcy cases, out-of-court restructurings and acquisitions.
Edward has consistently been recognized by Chambers USA, America’s Leading Lawyers for Business and Chambers Global, The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business. Most recently, clients praised him as a “superb and charismatic leader” and “the maestro of the bankruptcy practice.” Interviewees described Edward as “one of those rare people who comes along once in a while who has a legal mind and a business mind.” He has also been described as a “master strategist and brilliant technician” who “demonstrates incredible creativity” with “both a brilliant and commanding understanding of the law as well as a complete and thoughtful view of business” noting that his “ability to build consensus and to coalesce the group around important issues was stunning.” Client and peer quotes have also described Edward as a “really talented and very savvy deal-maker” with “deep relationships in the bankruptcy community” and praised him for his “command of a board of directors,” “tremendous credibility in the courtroom,” and his focus on “delivering a great job for his clients.” Client and peer quotes also commend Edward on his “leadership to clients who have never experienced the complexity and intensity of bankruptcy” noting he “has the ability to see the big picture of the case at all times and can anticipate the next several steps necessary to keep the case on track.” Interviewees praised Edward for his “great understanding of the impact of decisions on business” and his ability to “facilitate communication and dialogue and provide leadership,” while having “a good relationship with other professionals that transcends the adversarial aspects of cases.”
Edward has also consistently been recognized in The Legal 500 U.S. Client and peer quotes praise Edward for being a “tireless advocate with a highly evolved understanding of what matters to financial clients,” a “true business-savvy deal lawyer who knows when to fight and when to negotiate” and “as good as it gets in the bankruptcy area.”
Edward is an Adjunct Full Professor of Finance at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania where he teaches the “Corporate Restructuring” course every Fall. Edward also serves on the boards of numerous charities including UJA - Federation of New York.
Edward Sassower received a B.A. from Duke University and a J.D. from Duke University School of Law.
