Investment Banking Associate | Industrials

Houlihan Lokey; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 175,000 - 225,000; Full time

Job summary

Houlihan Lokey is seeking an Associate to join the Corporate Finance Industrials team in Chicago, assisting with a range of investment banking services and transactions. You will engage in client relationship management, end-to-end deal execution, and development of complex financial and valuation models to support advisory assignments.

The role emphasizes collaboration with senior bankers, supervision of junior team members, and active participation in business development activities, including

Qualifications

• At least three years of professional working experience.
• At least two years of investment banking experience.
• An undergraduate degree with academic distinction.

Responsibilities

• Managing client relationships
• Participating in end-to-end transaction execution
• Preparing confidential information memoranda, marketing, and presentation materials
• Analyzing historical and projected financial information
• Developing complex financial and valuation models
• Coordinating transaction execution
• Building datarooms and managing due diligence processes
• Participating in development of recommendations to clients with senior bankers
• Managing and supervising junior banking team members
• Assisting senior bankers with new business development, including pitch books and client identification

Skills

Investment banking experience

Financial modeling

Client relationship management

Analytical thinking

Education

Bachelor's degree (academic distinction)

Job description

Overview

Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) is a leading global investment bank recognized for delivering independent strategic and financial advice to corporations, financial sponsors, and governments. With uniquely deep industry expertise, broad international reach, and a partnership approach rooted in trust, the firm provides innovative, integrated solutions across mergers and acquisitions, capital solutions, financial restructuring, and financial and valuation advisory. Our unmatched transaction volumes provide differentiated, data-driven perspectives that help our clients achieve their most critical goals. To learn more about Houlihan Lokey, please visit HL.com.

Business Unit

Corporate Finance

Industry

Industrials

Overview

Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) is a leading global investment bank recognized for delivering independent strategic and financial advice to corporations, financial sponsors, and governments. With uniquely deep industry expertise, broad international reach, and a partnership approach rooted in trust, the firm provides innovative, integrated solutions across mergers and acquisitions, capital solutions, financial restructuring, and financial and valuation advisory. Our unmatched transaction volumes provide differentiated, data-driven perspectives that help our clients achieve their most critical goals. To learn more about Houlihan Lokey, please visit HL.com.

Corporate Finance

Houlihan Lokey has extensive expertise in mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, activist shareholder and takeover defense, and other related advisory services for a broad range of U.S. and international clients. Our experience in M&A has earned us consistent recognition throughout the industry. In 2025, LSEG ranked our firm the No. 1 investment bank for all global M&A transactions.

Industrials

Houlihan Lokey’s Industrials Group has earned a reputation for providing superior service and achieving outstanding results in M&A advisory, capital-raising, restructuring, and financial and valuation advisory services.

Our transaction quality and client work benefit from our company culture, where financial professionals are highly engaged in the execution of client projects, and from our experience as leaders in the market for over a decade, which has given our professionals valuable exposure to a variety of situations and challenges.

Job Description

Associates are an integral part of Houlihan Lokey’s business activities and play a key role in the delivery of exceptional service to our clients. Houlihan Lokey hires Associates to work specifically as part of industry aligned teams, assisting with a variety of investment banking services and transactions.

Associates support all facets of our investment banking engagements by:

• Managing client relationships
• Participating in end-to-end transaction execution including but not limited to the following:
• Preparing confidential information memoranda, marketing, and presentation materials
• Analyzing historical and projected financial information
• Developing complex financial and valuation models
• Coordinating transaction execution
• Building datarooms and managing due diligence processes
• Participating in the development of recommendations to clients alongside senior bankers
• Managing and supervising junior banking team members
• Assisting senior bankers with the new business development process, including the development of pitch books, identifying prospective new clients, etc.

Basic Qualifications

The environment at Houlihan Lokey is collegial entrepreneurial, and as such, rewards high performing team members that are driven to succeed with substantial responsibility. The ideal candidate should be motivated, creative and outgoing, and possess:

• At least three years of professional working experience
• At least two years of investment banking experience
• An undergraduate degree with academic distinction

Preferred Qualifications

• Extensive financial modeling experience and strong analytical abilities
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• A very high degree of intellectual curiosity and the ability to think independently
• The ability to work cooperatively with all levels of staff
• The ability to manage multiple projects and hit deadlines in a highly organized manner
• An independent, solutions-focused mindset

Compensation And Benefits

Houlihan Lokey is committed to providing its employees with an exciting career opportunity and competitive total compensation package, which may include other components such as discretionary incentive compensation. The firm’s good faith and reasonable estimate of the possible salary range for this role at the time of posting is:

$175,000 - $225,000

Actual salary at the time of hire may vary and may be above or below the range based on various factors, including, but not limited to, the candidate’s relevant qualifications, skills, and experience and the location where this position may be filled.

Houlihan Lokey provides a competitive benefits package. Our current benefits offerings can be found here:

2026 Benefits

We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.