Adam Waterous is no typical investment banker. He got a taste of the business during the summer between the first and second year of his Harvard MBA, which he spent at First Boston. He then decided to set up his own business, Waterous & Co, at the age of 29 to provide advice on mergers and acquisitions (M&A) to oil and gas companies. His next taste of corporate life in a large investment bank came 14 years later, in 2005, when he sold Waterous & Co to Scotiabank.
“Most bankers who run boutiques work at a big firm for a long time, 20 or 30 years, leave and then they start their own venture,” says Mr Waterous. “I did it differently. My sole investment bank experience was 10 weeks at First Boston. I got the idea and thought ‘I can do this’.”