It’s that time of year: banks (in theory) are hiring for their front office businesses after bonuses have been paid. Who are the decision makers who will determine hiring in their key businesses globally? We’ve assembled a non-comprehensive, non-prescriptive, non-alphabetical list for Bank of America, Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse below.
It’s not for us to suggest that you attempt to network with these people directly. Many are likely to be inaccessible. However, determination can pay off. And it’s worth bearing in mind that some of the leading names in the banking industry got their big breaks by being kind of pushy….
25 people you need to know at Bank of America Merrill Lynch
1. David Sobotka, head of global FICC trading
Sobotka is former Merrill Lynch & Co. commodities trader. Now head of global FICC trading, he previously ran Bank of America’s proprietary trading desk
2. Fabrizio Gallo, global head of equities and head of the markets business in EMEA
Gallo joined BofA from hedge fund Brevan Howard in 2009. He was formerly a prop trader at Morgan Stanley.
3. Michele Foresti, head of FICC trading for EMEA
Michele Foresti has just been appointed as head of FICC trading for EMEA at B of A. He’s currently on gardening leave having only just left Deutsche Bank.
4. Bernard Mensah, global head of emerging markets sales and trading
London-based Mensah started his career at Goldman Sachs in 2000 and joined Bank of America in 2008. He was previously head of EMEA FICC trading at the bank.
5. Mohamed Yangui head of equity derivatives structuring in Europe
Yangui joined B of A in December 2013. He was previously head of equities structuring at Nomura.
6. Simon Greenwell, head of equity research for EMEA
Greenwell is a Merrill Lynch veteran and has held positions across equity sales and equity research.
7. Miceal Chamberlain, co-head of equities sales for the Americas
Chamberlain has been co-head of equities sales for the Americas at Bank of America Corporation since December 2013. He focuses on long only clients.
8. Edouard Matitia-Cohen, co-head of equities sales for the Americas
Matitia-Cohen works with Chamberlain, but is focused on hedge funds.
9. Tom Klocker global head of e-trading strategy for FICC
Klocker is due to join B of A in June. He was head of algorithmic trading for fixed income, currencies and commodities at UBS.
10. Brice Rosenzweig, global co-head of quantitative strategies
Based in London.
11. Leif Andersen, global co-head of quantitative strategies
Based in New York
12. Christian Meissner, head of investment banking operations
Meissner worked for Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers and Nomura before joining BofA in mid-2010. He’s one of BofA’s most senior bankers on this list.
13. Alex Wilmot-Sitwell
President of B of A in Europe and emerging markets (ex-Asia). Joined from UBS in 2012.
14. Vikram Sahu, head of Southern Asia equity research
Joined from Goldman Sachs in January 2014. Based in Singapore, expected to hire.
15. Steve Haggerty, head of Asia Pac equity research
Haggerty has been at B of A for over five years. He joined from Schroders and Citi.
16. Luigi Rizzo, head of European M&A
42 year-old Rizzo joined B of A from Goldman Sachs in April 2013.
17. Adrian Mee, global head of M&A
Worked with Christian Meissner at Lehman. Joined from Nomura in 2010. Formerly at Morgan Stanley. Based in London.
18. Diego De Giorgi, co-head of European corporate and investment banking.
Joined from Goldman Sachs in June 2012.
19. Bob Elfring, co-head of European corporate and investment banking
Promoted in June 2012. Elfring was previously Bank of America’s head of investment banking for the Benelux region and Northern Europe.
20. Jiro Seguchi, head of investment banking Asia Pac
Promoted in October 2013. Based in Hong Long. Was previously co-head of the business, now sole head.
21. David Flannery, chief risk officer
Aged 37 now, Flannery was one of Crains’ 40 under 40 candidates in 2012. Previously head of high yield at Deutsche Bank.
22. Sanaz Zaimi, Head of FICC and global markets structured products sales, EMEA.
Former Goldman Sachs partner. Joined in 2009 on allegedly gigantic package.
23. Duncan Scott, EMEA head of operational risk, Bank of America
Joined from Barclays in 2012 where he was most recently global head of collateral management and European head of OTC clearing
24. Jeremy Preddy, chief risk officer at Merrill Lynch International
Based in London. Previously spent more than a decade working in front office roles at Bank of America in the US and three years at ABN in Asia as head of the fixed income capital markets business,
25 people you need to know at UBS:
1. Mike Stewart, global head of equities
Mike Stewart joined UBS as global head of equities in October 2011. Based in New York, Mike is responsible for driving UBS’s growth strategy for equities globally. He joined UBS from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where he was head of global equities, responsible for the company’s equity sales and trading activities globally.
2. Shane Edwards, global head of equity derivatives structuring
Joined from RBS in 2012
3. Roger Naylor, global head of equity derivatives
Joined from Deutsche Bank in 2012
4. Philip Allison, global head of cash equities
Aged 38. Allison joined UBS in 1997 straight out of Cambridge University with a maths degree.
5. Mark Stockdale, EMEA head of equity research at UBS
Stockdale has been with UBS since 2002 according to the FCA Register. He was made head of equity research in March 2011.
6. Nick Pink, global head of research at UBS
Former head of equities for EMEA at UBS, now global head of research.
7. Paul Graham, EMEA head of investment banking operations at UBS
Joined from Deutsche Bank in 2007. Has worked in a variety of operations roles.
8. Dushyant Chadha,head of US equity derivatives
Joined from Deutsche Bank in July 2013. Chadha was head of equity derivatives for the Americas at Deutsche.
9. Jacob Kaippallimalil, head of automated market making
Based in New York. Joined from Bank of America Merrill Lynch in August 2013.
10. Chris Leone, co-head of equity derivatives trading and head of risk for UBS in the U.S.
Based in Stamford. Promoted in 2011.
11. Jason Hedberg, head of US equity derivatives sales
Based in New York. Joined from SocGen in November 2013.
12. David Soanes, global head of the financial institutions group at UBS
Soanes has spent his entire career at the Swiss bank and is a heavyweight player internally. Formerly head of global capital markets.
13. William Vereker, head of M&A and capital markets in Europe
Joined in June 2013 from Nomura Holdings. A natural resources and utilities banker by trade, formerly worked for Morgan Stanley and Lehman Brothers.
14. Alison Harding-Jones, co-head of EMEA M&A at UBS
Promoted in 2011. Formerly head of the bank’s emerging Europe business.
15. Jonathan Rowley, co-head of EMEA M&A at UBS
Promoted alongside Harding-Jones in 2011.
16. Laurence Grafstein, co-head of M&A in the Americas
Hired from Rothschild in August 2012.
17. Marc-Anthony Hourihan, co-head of M&A in the Americas.
Hourihan is a Harvard graduate who joined UBS in August 1994.
18. Chris Murphy, global head for rates, FX and Credit
Joined from Morgan Stanley in 2009. Has an MA in maths from Cambridge. Specializes in rates and credit.
19. George Athanasopoulos, global co-head for FX, Rates and Credit
Seems to work alongside Murphy. Specializes in FX. Athanasopoulos joined UBS in July 2010 as global head of foreign exchange and precious metals distribution.
20. Yadh Yaich, head of non-core credit at UBS in the U.S.
Based in New York. Previously a structured credit trader at the Swiss bank. Now manages a group of traders in the non-core unit.
21. Eric Lafon, co-head of global credit sales at UBS
Based in Singapore. Worked at the Swiss bank since 2000. Previously the co-head of FICC distribution in EMEA.
22. Donald Adams, head of finance transformation at UBS
Has worked at UBS since 1995 in various finance change roles. Probably a good person to know if you’re looking for a contract accounting role at the bank.
23. Philip Lofts, group chief risk officer
Group risk chief operating officer in 2008 after three years serving as group chief credit officer. Before this, Mr. Lofts worked for the investment bank in a number of business and risk control positions in Europe, Asia Pacific and the US. Mr. Lofts joined Union Bank of Switzerland in 1984 as a credit analyst and was appointed head of structured finance in Japan in 1998.
24. Claudia Rola, head of valuation methodology at UBS
A French astrophysicist, Rola worked for Morgan Stanley and Bank of America before joining UBS. As risk modelling becomes more important to banks’ capital measurements, Rola should be a good person to know for anyone with aspirations to work in a risk role at the Swiss bank.
25. Mark Sanborn, chief risk officer, UBS investment bank
Former head of global equity trading for Lehman Brothers. Sanborn ran two hedge funds after leaving Lehman. He joined UBS in April 2011.
25 people you need to know at Credit Suisse
1. Guiseppe Monarchi, co-head of EMEA M&A and co-head of the EMEA TMT Group
Italian by birth, Monarchi has been at Credit Suisse since the mid-1990s. He’s been head of M&A since 2010.
2. Vikas Seth, co-head of EMEA M&A
Like Monarchi, Seth has been at Credit Suisse since the mid-1990s. He was appointed co-head of EMEA M&A alongside Monarchi in February 2012. Seth is based in London.
3. Madeleine McTernan, head of UK M&A
Joined Credit Suisse in 2007 Lehman Brothers, commonly known as ‘Maddy.’ McTernan has a law degree from Cambridge University and is a qualified solicitor.
4. Ewen Stevenson, co-head of EMEA investment banking at Credit Suisse
A FIG banker by trade, Stevenson joined Credit Suisse in 1989 and was promoted to co-head of European investment banking in May 2013.
5, Marisa Drew, co-head of EMEA investment banking at Credit Suisse.
Drew worked at Merrill Lynch before joining Credit Suisse a decade ago, She was promoted alongside Stevenson in May last year.
6. James Armine, global head of investment banking (IBD) for Credit Suisse
Based in New York, Armine is a qualified solicitor who joined Credit Suisse First Boston back in 1997.
7. Scott Lindsay, global head of M&A at Credit Suisse
Based in New York, Lindsay joined Credit Suisse First Boston in 1982. Before going into banking he was a member of the economics and finance faculties of the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of Southern California.
8. Ronnie Behar, co-head of APAC M&A at Credit Suisse
Singapore-based Behar was promoted to co-head of APAC M&A in June 2011. He joined the Swiss bank’s EMEA M&A Group in 1994.
9. Joe Gallagaher, co-head of APAC M&A at Credit Suisse
Hong Kong-based Gallagher has been head of M&A for APAC since 2007.
10. Steven East, co-head of equity research at Credit Suisse
Based in London, East has been with Credit Suisse since 2001 according to the FCA Register.
11. Stefano Natella, global co-head of securities research (focused on equities)
New York-based Natella has been with Credit Suisse since 1992. He has an MBA from Columbia Business School.
12. Eric Miller, global co-head of securities research (focused on fixed income)
Miller joined Credit Suisse as head of fixed income research in 2011. He previously worked at Barclays, Goldman and Merrill Lynch.
13. Steve Garnett, co-head of US equities
Garnett was previously head of global cash equities at CS. He joined the bank in 1999 and has a background in programme and electronic trading.
14. Mike Paliotta, co-head of US equities
Like most of the other senior figures at Credit Suisse in New York, Paliotta has been with the Swiss bank since its First Boston days.
15. Dan Mathisson, head of US cash trading and execution
Mathisson is responsible for block trading, program trading and electronic trading desks at Credit Suisse in the US. He previously worked for DE Shaw.
16. Timothy O’Hara, global head of equities
New York-based O’Hara has worked at Credit Suisse since 1988. He’s also president and CEO of Credit Suisse in the US.
17. David Tait, co-head of global currencies and emerging markets
Tait is an FX trader. He worked for Credit Suisse for six years until 2002 and then spent a decade at hedge funds Peloton Partners and Bluecrest Capital. If you meet him, ask about climbing Everest.
18. Chris Corson, co-head of global currencies and emerging markets
Chris Corson was formerly head of emerging markets at CS. He was promoted alongside Tait in late 2013.
19. Balbir Bakhshi
Group head of operational risk management for Credit Suisse, based in London. Since joining Credit Suisse as a risk manager in 1995, Bakhshi has had a number of senior risk roles at the bank. He was appointed to group head of operational risk in September 2013.
20. Brian Chan, head of APAC equity derivatives sales
Promoted in May 2013, based in Hong Kong.
21. Jason Forrester, EMEA CFO and head of capital management at Credit Suisse
Forrester was promoted to CFO in January 2014. He was previously head of risk analytics and reporting at the Swiss bank.
22. Colin Lovemason, head of market risk quantitative analytics at Credit Suisse
New York-based Lovemason joined Credit Suisse form ABN AMRO in 2005. He was promoted to head of market risk quantitative analytics in 2013, having previously been head of front office model validation.
23. Dan Rodriguez, chief risk officer for American equities at Credit Suisse
Rodriguez has been at CS since 2007. He previously worked for Morgan Stanley and has a PhD in economics from MIT.
24. William McQuilty, head of global cost management and EMEA COO at Credit Suisse
McQuilty is the man charged with getting costs down in Credit Suisse’s investment bank. He’s a good person to know if you want to work in an operations role at the Swiss firm. He joined from Citi in 2004.
25. Lasitha Dissanayak, COO for compliance EMEA at Credit Suisse’s investment bank
Dissanayak joined Credit Suisse in 2012. He previously worked for UBS and Deloitte, where he was a member of the financial services regulatory consulting practice.
Related Links:
100 names you need to know if you want a job at Barclays, Deutsche, Goldman Sachs, or JPMorgan
Confessions of a former HR director from a major US investment bank