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A Bank of America banker who died this month had renewed concerns about harsh working conditions on Wall Street and was looking for a new job with a better work-life balance, an executive recruiter told Reuters.
Leo Lukenas III, a 35-year-old Army veteran, joined Bank of America as an investment banker last year, working in deals for financial services companies.
He passed away on May 2nd. Reuters The New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner deemed the cause of death to be an “acute coronary thrombosis,” in which blood clots within the heart. The coroner’s report does not establish a link between Lukenas’ working conditions and his death.
new report from Reuters The paper published Wednesday raised further questions about the amount of time Loukenas may have logged before his untimely death.
Douglas Walters, executive recruiter and managing partner at Gray Fox Recruitment, told Reuters in an interview that he had been in contact with Mr. Lukenas in the months before his death, and that the banker had been in contact with him in the months before his death. He said he was looking for a part-time job. Mr. Walters said Mr. Lukenas told him that he worked more than 100 hours a week at Bank of America.
According to Walters’ interview with Reuters, Lukenas was willing to take a pay cut to work for some investment banking firms if his time was more convenient.Recruiter He declined to reveal the name of the company. “He made comments like, ‘I’ll take a 10% (salary) cut in exchange for sleep time,'” Walters told Reuters.
Walters said he helped Lukenas put together an application for the company. He also told the outlet that Lukenas asked him if it was normal for him to work 110 hours a week. Mr. Walters said he told Mr. Lukenas that it was excessive even by Wall Street standards.
Walters did not respond to a request for comment from BI via LinkedIn on Wednesday, and GrayFox Recruitment could not be reached. GrayFox says it serves companies in investment banking, private equity, corporate mergers and acquisitions, and more.
Bank of America did not immediately respond to BI’s request for comment. In an emailed statement to BI last week, a spokesperson for the bank said: “We are deeply sorry for the loss of our teammate. We will continue to support his family and team, especially those who worked closely with him. I will focus on doing whatever I can to help.” with him. “
Current and former investment bankers told Business Insider following his death that Mr. Lukenas’ death dominated the industry conversation, and that the company and the investment banking sector (known for its messy work culture) It is said that this has caused concern within the pressure cooker business, which often stifles demands for successors. Expert.
Prior to Mr. Lukenas’ death, he participated in transaction work related to UMB’s $2 billion all-stock acquisition of Heartland Financial USA. announced In late April. Last week, the nonprofit 51 Vets Started fundraising activities The Lukenas family has raised more than $380,000 of their $1 million goal.
Are you a Bank of America or Wall Street employee and have details you’d like to share? Contact these reporters. Reid Alexander can be reached via email. ralexander@businessinsider.comor the SMS/encryption app Signal (561-247-5758).