UniCredit Markets & Investment Banking (MIB) has strengthened its equity capital markets (ECM) team and appointed Christian Steffens as deputy head of global ECM, Mark Coxon as global head of equity and equity-linked syndicate and Tijs Jansen as a senior originator within ECM origination.
Asset Management
DLA Piper is taking on Tony Holland in its finance and projects practice in Dubai as regional head of finance. He brings over 25 years of extensive banking, project finance and infrastructure finance experience.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has appointed Plutarchos Sakellaris as vice-president. His responsibilities on the EIB’s management committee include supervising financing operations in Denmark, Ireland, Greece, Cyprus, and African, Caribbean and Pacific countries. Sakellaris also takes over the EIB’s economic and financial studies division.
The board of Old Mutual has accepted the resignation of its chief executive, Jim Sutcliffe. Julian Roberts, who has been CEO of Skandia since February 2006 and before that group finance director of Old Mutual, is taking over as new CEO.
HSBC Global Banking and Markets has hired Raj Sinha to be head of equity research, Saudi Arabia. Sinha will be based in Riyadh and will cover listed companies in the kingdom and MENA region for regional and international clients.
Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) has appointed Abdulla Al Hamli as its new chief executive officer. Al Hamli, who previously served as chief of operations and information technology at DIB, has worked at the bank for nine years, following 16 in progressively senior positions at leading public and private-sector organisations in Dubai, including more than a decade and a half as director of information systems at the Dubai Ports Authority and Jebel Ali Free Zone.
The board of the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) has hired Paul Koster as its next CEO. Koster succeeds David Knott, who retires from full time employment in December this year, after nearly four years with the DFSA. Knott is widely credited as having established the DFSA as a highly regarded regulator operating to world-class standards.
The Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) authority has appointed Jon Morton as director for financial development. Morton has joined the QFC authority from Henley Business School in the UK, formerly Henley Management College, which merged with the University of Reading in August.
Investec Investment Bank and Securities, the specialist investment bank, has announced two appointments as the bank continues to build on its position as a leading mid-market specialist. Gareth Taylor has joined as a director in the corporate finance division to lead Investec’s coverage of private equity clients and Matthew Wesley has joined the expanding debt advisory team as an associate director.
Union Bancaire Privée (UBP) has hired Marc Basselier as head of convertible bonds, a product that looks to offer investors some diversification as the global credit cycle turns away from cheap money.
World Bank president Jim Yong Kim sets out a radical agenda for his second term that will move it away from direct funding towards de-risking projects in Africa to make them more attractive to private capital.