Top Rising Bankers Reshaping Deal-Making: Insights on Revenue Surge, Hiring & Risks

The primary source—Business Insider’s “rising stars” feature—highlights individuals who are not just participating in dealmaking tailwinds but driving them. Their work spans IPOs (CoreWeave, Figma), spin-offs (Comcast’s Versant), global secondaries, and huge tech M&A (Broadcom-VMware, Palo Alto-CyberArk). These bankers are under 35, yet have already advised on transactions ranging from tens of billions to over $300 billion in combined deal value. That reflects both opportunity and the speed with which younger professionals are ascending.

Complementing that, recent earnings and market-wide reports underscore that the rebound in Wall Street deal activity is broad-based. Investment banking revenues have jumped significantly: Goldman Sachs saw a ~42% year-over-year increase in Q3 2025, JPMorgan ~16%, with supportive trends including rising equity markets, deal pipelines in tech and private equity, and a resurgence of IPOs in both size and frequency. [4] Banks are rapidly scaling up resources—senior hires, junior recruiting, and new business lines—particularly in sectors like data centers, AI, and secondaries, which appear to be among the most fertile. [6][3]

Strategically, the rise of bankers like Joe Slevin in secondary advisory and Jackie Shepherd in spin-outs signals that banks are doubling down on specialized deal types that blend advisory, capital markets, and creative structuring. The emergence of continuation vehicles, single-asset secondaries, and carve-outs reflect structures that not only provide liquidity but also new financial engineering levers amid constrained capital markets. [3]

Nonetheless, the rebound isn’t without headwinds: inflation and interest rate pressures continue to rise, elevating borrowing costs; trade and tariff policy remains unpredictable and disruptive to cross-border flows; and some banks warn of valuation excesses in equity and private markets. Also, competition for talent is intensifying costs, with retention emerging as a key challenge. The question is not whether dealmaking will continue its upward arc, but whether it can sustain current pace through 2026 under volatile economic conditions. The strategic implications for banks include focusing on high-growth sectors, improving execution and structuring skills, managing risk around valuations and leverage, and investing in talent to match the competitive landscape.