Ken Berliner has quietly stepped down as president of investment bank Peter J. Solomon & Co., in order to join rival Centerview Partners.
Berliner had spent 23 years at PJSC, working on such mergers and acquisitions as Staples Inc.’s (SPLS) pending $6.3 billion purchase of Office Depot (ODP), eBay’s (EBAY) $2.4 billion deal for GSI Commerce and the $3.3 deal transaction that saw Phillips-Van Heusen’s (PVH) $3.1 billion acquire Tommy Hilfiger.
Centerview ―founded in 2006 by Blair Effron and Robert Pruzan ― has not yet publicly announced the hire, but Berliner does now appear on its website. PJSC has not yet named a successor for the president role.
Neither Berliner nor PJSC has yet responded to requests for comment.
Update: PJSC says that Berliner officially left last summer, and that his “garden leave” ended at the end of 2015. It adds that “his departure actually is part of an ongoing succession plan for our firm… Along these lines, there will be additional announcements in the comping months.”
