A top Wall Street dealmaker has left an elite New York investment bank after his bosses discovered he was having an affair with a younger colleague on his team, The Washington Post has learned.
Adam Teitle has resigned as a senior managing director at Evercore, which was founded by Democratic Party leader Roger Altman, following a personnel investigation into his ties, four sources familiar with the matter told The Washington Post.
Rumor has it that the lecherous rainmaker, married and father of three, left the company after allegations emerged that he was “having a sexual relationship with a junior female employee on his team,” one source said.
Tettle, a six-year veteran of the firm who recently earned the title “Goldman North,” was named this spring. A Financial Times article documenting the success “It all happened so suddenly,” another source told The Post.
“There were definitely dark clouds hanging over his departure,” acknowledged the third of six people at the company who spoke to The Washington Post about Tetle's departure.
Teitle quickly got off the ground, joining global investment firm Lazard in June, according to public records.
Evercore was founded by Altman in 1995, a year after he left the Clinton administration amid the Whitewater scandal, in which he allegedly tipped off the Clinton family about a looming investigation into their purchase of an Arkansas ranch.
The Post could not confirm when Teitle's relationship with the young woman began, and sources said the young woman is no longer with the company.
According to court records, the 55-year-old banker was filed for divorce in New York State Supreme Court by his wife, Andrea West Teitle, a civil rights attorney, on Nov. 10 of last year.
Details of the divorce proceedings are protected by New York state privacy laws, and the marriage registration is confidential. The parties reached a settlement in June, according to court records. A source close to the family said the divorce is expected to be finalized in court within the next few months.
New York property records show the couple lived in a luxury building in Manhattan's trendy TriBeCa neighborhood, where apartments often go on sale for $3 million.
Teitle's lawyer, Jeffrey Zuckerman, said the allegations that he was having an affair were “false and absurd.”
“We deny it in the strongest terms,” he told The Post, insisting that Teitle was simply taking a break from his career to be with his family.
An Evercore spokesman said: “We do not comment on personnel matters.”
When The Washington Post first reached out to Teitle's new employer for comment, Hazel Crampton Hayes, a former press secretary for crisis communications firm Lisa Heller and who served as press secretary to Gov. Kathy Hochle and Gov. Andrew Cuomo, initially responded on Teitle's behalf.
Lisa Heller LLP declined to comment, but it has represented disgraced sexting lawyer Anthony Weiner and former CNN president Jeff Zucker. The firm also represented Harvey Weinstein, who was accused of groping an Italian model by the Manhattan district attorney's office in 2015.
Former colleagues said Teitle, a Wharton MBA graduate, was “highly respected” by his colleagues.
But sources said he was also seen as a demanding boss who intimidated some staff with his rude and blunt leadership style.
“He didn't have to be liked; he was one of the bosses,” said a source familiar with the matter.
A family member, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Teitle had been worked “to the bone” in the office.
Teitle, a former Goldman Sachs and Barclays Capital executive, worked on several lucrative transactions in the consumer and retail sector during his six-year tenure at Evercore, including Campbell Soup's $2.7 billion acquisition of Sovos Brands and the sale of Pinnacle Foods to Conagra Brands.
Reuters reported on April 19 that he was planning to leave Evercore, citing people familiar with the matter.
Teitle left Evercore the following month, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Teitle joined Lazard at the end of June to lead the firm's global consumer, retail and leisure business, according to an update to his broker profile on the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's (FINRA) website.
Bloomberg first reported on June 5 that Tettle had been appointed to Lazard, which is led by Peter Orszag, former budget secretary under President Barack Obama. It was unclear whether his new bosses knew the circumstances that led to the highly paid financier leaving his previous job.
A spokesman for the financial services giant did not respond to multiple requests for comment from The Washington Post.
Mike Long, a managing director on Teitle's team at Evercore, is set to follow Teitle to Lazard, Bloomberg reported. Long will advise consumer retailers on M&A transactions. He has not yet assumed his new role, according to his FINRA profile.
