Philipp Krohn admits that Alantra overstretched. The mid-market investment bank spent years opportunistically poaching from larger rivals, pushing ahead with an aggressive international expansion even as a deal slump forced Wall Street banks to cut thousands of jobs.

In December last year, the bank unveiled a surprise strategy shift. Krohn took over its investment banking business as part of a broader management overhaul, offices were shuttered and, as Financial News reported, it cut around 20 senior dealmakers in response to “radical changes” facing the advisory business.