Reflections of a banking MD: "20 years of 70-90 hour weeks; six million air miles"
John Metz, ex-technology banker, has an idol. It's not Warren Buffet or Steve Jobs, both of whom he's lukewarm about, but Ernest Hemingway. Metz loves Hemingway for his lack of BS and experiential maximization. "Why would you want to work yourself to death?," he says of Buffett. "He ultimately failed because his family hated him," he says of Jobs. Metz, who likes hiking, travelling, dancing and living, is more akin to Hemingway: "I am a strong personality," he admits. "- Do you want to survive your life or live it?"
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This month marked the end of Metz's investment banking career. Spanning two and a half decades, it was split between Credit Suisse (18 years) and Jefferies (seven years), and was spent serving US technology clients from a base in San Francisco. Lasting that long in banking was an achievement, says Metz. "I have spent 30 years pricing IPOs and M&A deals, valuing software and infrastructure," he says. "Banking kept me young," he adds.
It wasn't the demands of the job, but the interactions with the founders that maintained Metz's vigor. He's open about the demands of banking careers, and says those demands keep going right through to managing director (MD) level. "I grinded well into my managing director years," he says. "I have flown six million air miles and worked 20 years of 70-90 hour weeks." Ultimately, it was too much: "It's hard to maintain enthusiasm after nearly 30 years doing the same thing. I was ready to do something else."
Metz comes from the same generation as Jim Donovan at Goldman Sachs. But he's more ardent and prone to using expletives than Donovan, who rarely breaks a smile or reveals any emotion. The early years in banking were the worst, says Metz. "After the 2000 internet bubble, we were all shredded," he recalls. The approach to managing juniors was different then: "I used to say to juniors, 'I am going to throw 10 of you in the pool and only two of you will survive.'"
Ultimately, banking cost him his marriage, but Metz says the hours weren't the problem. It was the behavior. "In 2000 I said to my wife, "I don't know if you're willing to put up with this anymore, but if you are, there's going to be a level of material quality of life that's significant, although on the flipside you'll be a single parent for a while.'" His wife acceded to that payoff, but things fell apart anyway. Metz says the behavior that banking encourages is inimical to successful relationships: "Bankers are extremely competitive aggressive type A people who are used to driving themselves and others. While that makes for success professionally, if you bring those traits home, it's not a healthy thing."
Outside of banking, Metz is still that person. "I’ve always exceeded expectations and optimized every challenge I've encountered in my career," he says. "I've always come out ahead." He's moved to Arizona, but he hasn't retired: he's using his network to source details for Saints Capital, a secondary venture capital (VCs) firm that buys investment from existing VCs.
Metz is proud of his career. He's proud of his children, and he's proud of the young bankers he's mentored. He is also proud of his approach. "I am a strong personality," he says. "Some people like that. I am not a bullshitter."
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