{"id":518,"date":"2026-07-13T16:18:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T16:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.trainy.co\/blog\/?p=518"},"modified":"2026-07-13T16:18:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T16:18:00","slug":"ma-audencia-moelis-londres","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.trainy.co\/blog\/en\/ma-audencia-moelis-londres\/","title":{"rendered":"Faire du M&A \u00e0 Londres apr\u00e8s Audencia : entretien avec Quentin Lagny (Moelis)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Trainy sat down with Quentin Lagny. After studying at Audencia, he is now a Generalist Analyst across sectors and products (M&A \/ Restructuring) at Moelis London.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Early days<\/h2>\n\n\n\n


Can you walk us through your path, from the EC pr\u00e9pa at Bergson to your current role at Moelis in London?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n


My path is a bit unconventional. I did a science track (Bac S) at a high school in central France near Tours, then a BTS in real estate before switching to an ECG pr\u00e9pa (ECS at the time) in Angers. I then joined Audencia’s Master in Management (PGE) in Nantes, where I completed several internships: in M&A (Transactions & Compagnie, Natixis Partners and Deutsche Bank) and in PE (Antin Infrastructure Partners), along with an academic exchange in Rabat, Morocco, and a finance major.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I joined Moelis in London last July, where I work as a Generalist Analyst across sectors and products (M&A \/ Restructuring).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Read more : Audencia – Stanford partnership<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Back in french \u00ab\u00a0pr\u00e9pa\u00a0\u00bb at Bergson, what kind of student were you? Did you already have a clear idea of what you wanted to do?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n


In high school I was an average and fairly uninvested student: I had a decent GPA (~13-14) thanks to a degree of natural ease, but without really putting in the work. In pr\u00e9pa, on the other hand, I showed up with a lot of motivation and ambition. I didn’t yet know precisely what I wanted to do, but I was certain I wanted to work in finance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Why did you choose Audencia after the entrance exams?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n


Audencia is recognized as a benchmark school in finance, so the choice came naturally. I had already seen, back then, plenty of the school’s alumni on LinkedIn landing senior roles in well-known boutiques and banks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How did you structure your time at Audencia to aim for investment banking (choice of major, internships, extracurriculars, networking\u2026)?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n


When I arrived at Audencia, I quickly realized I wanted to do M&A. So I started networking very early, both internally (with Audencia students) and externally (students \/ professionals).
In practice, I spent a lot of time calling people, sending LinkedIn messages and unsolicited applications to track down three crucial pieces of information: (i) who to send my CV to, (ii) when to send my CV, and (iii) how to send my CV.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How did the school help you reach those goals?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n


The most valuable thing Audencia offers when you want to work in finance is undoubtedly its alumni network. As mentioned, I was able to talk with a huge number of professionals from the school, and that was fundamental for my applications.
The school also does everything it can to help you reach your goals. First, you are well equipped for interviews thanks to the depth of the finance courses, especially in the major. Second, the administrative support is excellent, notably through the career fair that supports students day to day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Building a coherent path in finance: progression, choices and strategy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n


You went through Transactions & Cie, Natixis, Deutsche Bank, Antin Infrastructure in London, then Moelis. How did you think through this progression? Was it strategically planned from the start?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n


I always aimed as high as possible, namely large cap. My thinking was that, down the line, it was the best way to keep the most doors open: stay in large cap or move back toward mid cap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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At what point did you decide to target London over Paris?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n


Very early on, I targeted London, which matched what I was looking for: a bigger market, more opportunities, more international. Like many, I tried for Summer Internships without success. So I pivoted to Off-Cycle roles, and once I was on the ground in London, it was far easier to stay there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How do you get from a first M&A internship in France to an international investment bank in London? What makes the difference?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n


The key is perseverance and resilience. The path is built step by step.
It is normal to face a lot of rejections, even when you come from an excellent school. The real challenge is converting opportunities when they come up: passing the interviews, learning from your mistakes and starting again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Looking back today, which choices were the most decisive in your path?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n


You must never give up. And beyond the work, staying someone who is friendly, approachable, ego-free and helpful to others is essential in the long run. Nothing is impossible, you can get wherever you want: it is simply a question of commitment and tenacity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Breaking into and lasting in investment banking<\/h2>\n\n\n\n


Concretely, what does your day-to-day look like at Moelis in London?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n


My day-to-day is fairly standard compared to what you would find at competing banks. It is split between research, producing marketing documents, valuation, managing the process on live deals, and so on. Being in a boutique rather than a bank, I do get better exposure because the teams are smaller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Read more : New Audencia strategic plan<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Which skills are genuinely indispensable to perform in M&A today?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The technical skills are not as hard as in some other finance roles. They simply require cramming and repetition.
Mentally, you have to be resilient, persevering, curious and proactive. It is a job that demands grit if you want to last over the long run.
Relationally, negotiation and strong commercial relationships are indispensable, but more so as you become more senior, notably from Vice-President onward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The field has a reputation for being demanding. Is it really as intense as people say? How do you last over time at that level of intensity?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n


The field is indeed demanding. The hours, the pressure and the stress are significant, even if it depends on the structure and the team you join. The hours will not be the same whether you work in small\/mid-cap or in large cap. Likewise, they can vary from one team to another within the same structure (the team’s reputation, deal flow, etc.). To last, there is no secret – a good lifestyle, good mental health (it matters to surround yourself with the right people, whether at work or outside it). Challenging yourself \/ setting goals is also a way to keep yourself motivated over the medium and long term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What mistakes do you often see among students who want to break into investment banking, M&A or finance in general?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n


Great question – I would say a lack of perseverance and proactivity. You see too many people say they never get any responses or interviews, but who don’t really give themselves the means to succeed. As an example, I was sending dozens of LinkedIn messages a day and about thirty emails (unsolicited applications, networking). The idea is not to push too hard with people but to act intelligently. If you go after the right information (when to apply, who to send your CV to, how to apply), then the responses will come. Volume helps a lot, certainly, at the start of the journey; then you can refine your targets (banks, structures) and improve the quality of your outreach. Staying modest and friendly also matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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With hindsight, would you make exactly the same choices?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n


I would probably try to diversify my professional experiences more, and I would have liked to explore another area of finance. But other than that, yes, I would make the same choices. It remains demanding and requires a lot of commitment \/ effort, but it is also extremely formative.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Audencia opens the door to prestigious roles within the world’s leading financial institutions. Here, we meet Quentin Lagny, an M&A Analyst at Moelis London.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":849,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-518","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-Interviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trainy.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trainy.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trainy.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trainy.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trainy.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=518"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.trainy.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trainy.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/849"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trainy.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trainy.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trainy.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}