Search results for

Jason Valmadre was an obvious beneficiary of ABN Amro's reorganisation of its investment banking business in April this year. The promotion of Jeroen Berns from global head of syndicate to head of European equity capital markets (ECM) left a space at the top of the bank's syndicate desk, and Valmadre, Berns's deputy, was the man to fill it.

In January this year Jeremy Bennett was promoted by Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB). His new job, as head of global structuring, sees him take charge of a new department of 200 people from across CSFB's international derivatives sectors. He is determined that CSFB should become a centre of excellence under his stewardship. "It is a big job," he says. We are putting derivatives at the front and centre of our operation. Other houses have got their act together in derivatives and less liquid structured products in recent years. To stay ahead we have to remain innovative and have to apply lateral thought to situations. In a nutshell, that is my new mandate."

Credit Suisse First Boston gave Jim Amine, already co-head of global leveraged finance, the added responsibility of being co-head of the bank's newly established global market solutions group in Europe in May 2005. The group, called GMSG, was formed in December 2004 to deliver products to clients in Europe and combines equity capital markets, debt capital markets, leverage finance originations, equity derivatives and debt derivatives. Amine is co-head with Paul Raphael (qv).

John Moore joined HSBC in August 2004 as head of leveraged finance distribution, brought in to kickstart the bank's leveraged syndication platform. He has been a one man team so far, but as a result of the bank's dealflow in leveraged loans since his arrival, Moore now has a mandate to hire a dedicated sales person.

Jonathan McHardy's trading background in emerging markets, structuring and credit earned him promotion to co-head of European fixed income at Credit Suisse First Boston, a title he was given in January 2005 after former head Trevor Price left the firm. McHardy reports globally to fixed income head Jim Healy and locally to Michael Philipp, CEO of Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Jonathan Moulds was promoted to be Bank of America's (BofA) new international head of global markets in April, having been the bank's head of liquid products for two years. He is now responsible for debt and equity products outside the US, and manages a staff of more than 750 bankers. Moulds concedes that much of BofA's work is centred in the US but argues that his experience, having worked largely in risk and structured products, puts him in a strong position to raise BofA's international profile.

Justin May was made global head of DCM at ABN Amro in March, taking charge of financial institutions origination in addition to his responsibility for corporate clients. He had joined ABN Amro in 1995 to run Nordic origination and was promoted to head of European corporate origination in 2000. Two years later he became global head of corporate DCM.

Having begun his career in econometric modelling at Deutsche Bank, Kay Haigh made the switch to trading one year later. It clearly suited him — nine years later he is still on the bank's trading desk, although with a great deal more responsibility. He is a managing director and head of central eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEEMEA) trading at Deutsche in London, reporting to Pablo Calderini. In the interim, from 2002 to 2004, he spent two years in New York leading Deutsche's local markets and derivatives trading in Latin America.

"There is no question that Bank of America will be successful, both in Europe and globally," says Kenneth Leet, head of corporate and investment banking for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at the US bank. Hired by Bank of America in March this year, Leet's objective is to make the bank a success in Europe, in the same way it has long been a success in the US.

Ligia Torres was promoted to become the head of BNP Paribas' European corporate group within fixed income in January. The move also saw her take charge of Middle Eastern corporate fixed income.

Kenneth Poon, managing director and regional head of equity capital markets for Citigroup in Asia, joined the firm in June last year from Merrill Lynch where he was a managing director and the regional head of equity capital markets for Asia. Poon has over 15 years of experience in Asian capital markets and has completed transactions in every market in the region and in every conceivable type of equity instrument, including some highly innovative and breakthrough transactions.

Private equity companies' use of leveraged finance has revolutionised the European syndicated loan market. The once staid and predictable market that was very much the poor and rather boring relation of its big, brash cousin the bond market has been transformed.