With the advent of AI, those frantic 2 a.m. emails from your boss may be over.
Orlando Bravo, the billionaire founder of software-focused private equity firm Thoma Bravo, said AI is changing the reliance on junior workers to do the mechanical tasks that traditionally kept them glued to their computers until the wee hours of the morning.
“I bother them a lot less now, because instead of having to call them in the middle of the night, I can use AI to do something right in the middle of the night. It just makes their lives better, and that’s what they want,” Bravo told CNBC at a conference in Berlin on Tuesday.
Questions about the grueling work hours at entry-level positions on Wall Street have persisted for decades, with some employees reporting more than 100 hours a week. AI tools can handle many of the time-consuming tasks traditionally handled by young Wall Streeters, such as building models and pitch decks.
The outlook has raised concerns that AI will reduce demand for younger workers. Still, Wall Street executives have largely framed the technology as a productivity tool rather than a replacement initiative.
Bravo said that in general, AI will help younger employees “mature” faster, as employees will be able to focus on higher-level thinking and investing. Employers across industries are offering entry-level employees the opportunity to work on larger, more advanced projects, creating both opportunity and a steeper learning curve.
He rejected the idea that technology would automate employees’ jobs, saying the opposite was true at his company, which employs about 220 people. For the first time in his 30-year career in private equity, he said he feels the need to hire more people.
“If you define an associate’s role as just creating spreadsheets, you don’t have to do that. But our associates are now demanding more from companies, building relationships with CEOs, and we need more associates,” he said.
Bravo, whose firm manages more than $180 billion and has built its business around software investments, is one of many prominent financial leaders considering the future of junior roles.
Leaders at many Wall Street banks have also said that AI will transform entry-level roles on the sell side, but no bank has publicly announced large-scale technology-related layoffs, and the number of Wall Street summer interns has remained largely flat or increased.
However, some changes may occur. Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said earlier this month that the bank’s new hires could shrink “a little bit” over the next three years as AI reshapes jobs.