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Week of January 9
Peter Cieszko has been named president of Fidelity Investments Institutional Services Company. Cieszko formerly served as president and CEO of Evergreen Investments.
Yano K. Touma, CTFA, has joined Hilliard Lyons' Wealth Services division as senior vice president and director, business development. Touma previously served as a client advisor within National City Corp.'s Private Client Group.
Bob McCann, the chief of Merrill Lynch's brokerage unit, is leaving after 26 years with the firm. The announcement comes just five days after the acquisition by Bank of America was completed.
John D. Rogers, CFA, will serve as the new president and CEO ofThe CFA Institute, succeeding Jeff Diermeier, CFA, who has held the position since January 2005. Rogers most recently served as president and CEO of INVESCO Institutional.
Week of January 2
Susan G. Markel, chief accountant of the Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Enforcement, is stepping down to join AlixPartners as managing director of their corporate investigations practice. She has held the position of chief accountant for the Division of Enforcement since June 2003.
John Allison has retired as BB&T Corp.'s chief executive but will remain chairman of the company. Kelly King, the chief operating officer, has succeeded Allison as CEO, and Christopher Henson, the chief financial officer, has succeeded King.
Week of December 26
Eric Billings, founder, chairman and chief executive of FBR Capital Markets, will be replaced as the firm's CEO by Richard Hendrix, FBR's president and chief operating officer, on Jan. 1. Billings will retain his position as FBR's chairman. Hendrix has served as FBR's president and COO since October 2004.
Bill C. Taylor has joined Pioneer Investments as senior vice president and head of relationship management and strategic alliances in the U.S., reporting to Joseph D. Kringdon. Taylor formerly served as president of managed accounts and head of the national broker/dealer at Evergreen Investments.
AllianceBernstein Holding has appointed Peter Kraus as its CEO, replacing Lewis A. Sanders, who is retiring. Kraus most recently served as head of global strategy at Merrill Lynch.
Neuberger Berman's board of directors has selected Tom D. Seip and Robert Conti to serve as non-executive chairman and as chief executive officer respectively. Seip and Conti will succeed Peter E. Sundman, who is resigning. Seip formerly served as CEO of Charles Schwab Investment Management and Conti was executive vice president and managing director at Neuberger Berman.
Ira M. Birns has assumed chairmanship of the Association for Financial Professionals' board of directors. Birns is the executive vice president and chief financial officer of World Fuel Services Corporation. He will serve a two-year term as AFP chairman of the board.
President-elect Barack Obama has named Karen Mills to lead the Small Business Administration. Mills currently serves as founding partner of the equity firm Solera Capital and as president of the MMP Group, a private equity firm based in Maine.
Genworth Financial plans to layoff 13% of its global workforce, or roughly 1,000 employees. The insurance and financial services company reported over $360 million in losses in the second and third quarters.
Week of December 19
Bank of America Corp. has sected John Lawlor, Merrill Lynch & Co's chairman of municipal markets, to head its municipal unit after it completes its acquisition of the bank. In his new position, Lawlor will report to Gerhard Seebacher, who will be head of global credit products at the combined firm.
Bob Wigley will step down from his senior executive role as Merrill Lynch's chairman for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Jonathan Moulds, the current president of BofA in Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA) and Asia, will step in as Wigley's successor.
Northern Trust Corp. plans to slash 450 positions, or roughly 4% of its workforce, in the first quarter in an effort to offset $300 million in third-quarter charges to support its money market funds.
Peter Sundman has joined Legg Mason as president and chief executive officer of its ClearBridge Advisors subsidiary. Sundman formerly served as chairman and chief executive officer of Neuberger Funds.
President-elect Barack Obama has named Mary L. Schapiro as his nominee for chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Schapiro, who currently heads the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), would be the first woman nominated to head the SEC for a full term.
John Callegari, CFA, has joined Cascade Investment Advisors, a Portland-based registered investment advisory firm, as a portfolio manager.
Tim Austin has joined Davidson companies, the Montana-based financial services firm, as senior vice president, chief operations officer.
Wells Fargo & Co., the banking company that is buying Wachovia Corp., has named Jay Welker president of the company's combined wealth management groups. Welker currently serves as head of Wells Fargo Wealth Management Group.
Jeff Diermeier, CFA will retire his position as president and CEO of the CFA Institute on December 31, 2008 due to personal circumstances and in concert with his originally planned tenure. Currently, the CFA Institute Board of Governors is conducting a search for the next president and CEO among CFA charterholders worldwide.
Richard Freiman, from JBHanauer & Co., has joined the Aventura, Fla. branch of Gilman Ciocia, Inc., a provider of tax preparation and financial planning services.
Week of December 12
KBS Capital Advisors has appointed David Snyder as its chief financial officer with responsibility for the company's growing portfolio of non-traded publicly offered real estate investment trust (REIT) products. Snyder most recently served as vice president and controller of Nationwide Health Properties.
J. Alan Reid, CEO of Forward Management, has been appointed to the Board of Governors of Investment Company Institute (ICI). Reid also serves as CEO of ReFlow Management.
A. John Wright has joined Glenmede's Princeton office as vice president and portfolio manager, reporting to John S. Phillips. Prior to joining Glenmede, Wright was managing director at U.S. Trust Company of New York.
AIG has named Peter Eastwood the president and chief executive officer of Lexington Insurance Company, a unit of AIG Commercial Insurance, reporting to John Q. Doyle, president and chief executive officer of AIG Commercial Insurance. Eastwood, who most recently served as executive vice president of Lexington, will take over his new position from Kevin H. Kelley, who has left the company.
Citing steep redemptions and continued market declines, Fidelity Chairman Ned Johnson indicated the firm's 7% layoffs, or loss of 3,000 jobs, could surge if conditions worsen.
John Thain, the Merrill Lynch chairman and CEO under fire for suggesting that its board's compensation committee pay him a multimillion-dollar bonus, will be going home empty-handed this year.
State Street Corp. is laying off 6% of its workforce, or 1,800 people, in the first quarter.
Week of December 5
Clare Richer and Andra Bolotin are joining Putnam Investments as senior managing director and chief financial officer, and managing director and controller, respectively. Richer most recently served as executive vice president of Fidelity Management & Research Company. Bolotin, who will report to Richer, was most recently senior vice president and CFO of Fidelity HR Services.
The Round Table of New York has awarded Sy Sternberg, CLU, chairman of the board of the New York Life Insurance Company, its 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award.
The CEO of Swiss bank Julius Baer, Alex Widmer, passed away unexpectedly on Wednesday, Dec. 3 at the age of 52. Widmer joined the Julius Baer Group from Credit Suisse in 2005. Hans de Gier, chairman of Baer hedge fund GAM, will take on the leadership of the private bank.
Gavin MacDonald, the global head of M&A at Morgan Stanley passed away on Friday at the age of 47, after suffering a heart attack earlier in the week. MacDonald had been with Morgan Stanley for roughly 25 years.
Goldman Sachs plans to name Gerald Corrigan as chairman of Goldman Sachs Bank USA. Corrigan currently serves as a managing director at Goldman Sachs. He formerly served as a chief executive of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and vice chairman of the Federal Open Market Committee.
Miguel Paredones and Anibal Palma have left Quantek Asset Management after a restructuring at Quantek Opportunity Fund. Their departures follow a decision by Quantek to relocate its entire investment execution platform from the U.S. to its Mexico City office. At Quantek, Paredones served as vice president of principal investments and Palma served as head of investment execution.
Matthew Whitbread, CFA, has joined FundQuest's Investment Management team as a senior financial analyst and member of the Investment Committee. Whitbread most recently served as a senior portfolio analyst at Pyramis Global Advisors.
JPMorgan plans to cut roughly 9,200 jobs from recently acquired Washington Mutual. By the end of January, nearly half of these employees are expected to lose their jobs.
James Sprayregen will leave his position of co-head of US restructuring at Goldman Sachs and return to his former employer, Kirkland & Ellis, where he will serve as a partner in the firm's restructuring practice group.
Fabrizio Cesario and Frederic Legmann, from Lehman Brothers, have joined the financial advisory firm Lazard as managing directors in the financial institutions group (FIG), based in London.
Vanguard Morgan Growth Fund has named two new firms to the its investment advisory team. Frontier Capital Management Co., LLC, and Kalmar Investment Advisers have replaced Franklin Portfolio Associates, LLC, in managing approximately 20% of the $6.4 billion fund. Stephen Knightly, CFA, serves as the portfolio manager for Frontier's portion of the fund and Ford B. Draper, Jr. serves as the portfolio manager for Kalmar's portion.
Week of November 28
Waddell & Reed plans to offer its employees voluntary layoff packages next month, and potentially hand out pink slips the following week, in an effort to reduce payroll costs by 15%.
Fannie Mae has named David Johnson as the government-sponsored enterprise's executive vice president and chief financial officer. Johnson most recently served as an executive vice president and chief financial officer at Hartford Financial Services Group.
Charles Goldman has accepted the newly created position of president of Institutional Platforms for Fidelity Institutional Products Group within Fidelity Institutional in Boston. Goldman is set to begin this new role in January 2009, reporting to Michael K. Clark. This news comes just one week after Goldman left Schwab Institutional.
Putnam Investments has hired Daniel C. Farrell as head of equity trading at the firm. Farrell has served as vice president of equity trading at RiverSource Communications since 2003.
President-elect Barack Obama has formally selected key members of his economic team, including New York Federal Reserve President Timothy Geithner, who will serve as U.S. Treasury Secretary. Lawrence Summers will become director of the National Economic Council. Summers previously served as a former Harvard University president and a Treasury Secretary during the Clinton administration. And Economist Christina Romer will serve as chair of the Council of Economic Advisers and Melody Barnes, executive vice president for the Center for American Progress, will become director of the Domestic Policy Council.
University of Michigan economists warn the state may lose up to 108,000 jobs next year—causing the unemployment rate to soar to over 10% through 2010—its highest since 1984.
The wife of former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, Silda Wall Spitzer, has joined Metropolitan Capital Advisors, a New York-based hedge fund with $151 million under management. In this position she will focus on investment strategies and attracting new investors to the fund.
MFS has laid off 90 professionals—roughly 5% of its workforce—across the board, including a few investment management executives.
William F. Glavin, Jr. has been appointed as CEO of OppenheimerFunds, effective January 1. John V. Murphy, the current chairman and CEO, will continue to serve as chairman, president and a director/trustee of the funds until his retirement at the end of next year. Glavin has been co-chief operating officer at OppenheimerFunds since July 2007.
Citigroup has slashed approximately 70 professionals from the tax-exempt capital markets group of its broker-dealer Citi, including about a dozen senior bankers, a dozen junior bankers, and sales, trading, underwriting and other professionals. The bank reportedly plans to cut 20% of its overall workforce by mid-2009.
Week of November 21
The board of directors of The CFP Board has named both Raymond Ferrara, CFP, president and chief executive officer of ProVise Management Group LLC, and Joan S. Wise, executive vice president and general counsel for AARP, to four-year terms on the board of directors. Their terms are set to begin on January 1, 2009.
Nadine Givens has joined BKD Wealth Advisors, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of BKD, LLP, as a senior managing advisor and office director. Before joining BKD Wealth Advisors, Givens was managing director and market manager for the private wealth group of a national financial services firm in Indianapolis.
Fidelity Investments has named Michael Durbin as president of Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services, succeeding John W. "Jack" Callahan, who has taken a new senior position with Fidelity Personal and Workplace Investing. Durbin most recently served as chief operating officer of the National Sales Division of Morgan Stanley's Global Wealth Management Group.
Barclays Wealth has hired Zamir Siddiqi as an investment representative. Siddiqi most recently served as a principal financial advisor at Alliance Bernstein.
Wealth advisory specialists, Robert W. Gracey, CFP, and Allan R. Miller, CFP, have relocated from Citi Smith Barney's Wheeling, WV, office to its office in Pittsburgh, PA.
Putnam CEO Robert Reynolds announced that the firm will do away with team-managed equity mutual funds, which will instead be run by single portfolio managers, in an effort to improve accountability and performance. A total of 47 people were let go in the process, including 12 fund managers, 17 quantitative research people, and 18 others.
Citigroup's CEO, Vikram Pandit, has announced plans to eliminate approximately 50,000 jobs, dramatically cut costs and continue to reduce assets.
The National Association of Realtors has historically elected its first black president, Charles McMillan, to lead the 120,000-member trade group for the next year. McMillan is a Texas Realtor with more than 20 years of experience.
Thomas A. James, chairman and CEO of Raymond James Financial, Inc., was named the Ernst Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2008 national award winner in the Financial Services category. All award winners were selected by an independent panel of judges from approximately 400 regional award recipients.
The Financial Planning Association (FPA) has named Tom Potts, Ph.D., CFP, as president-elect for 2009. In addition, six new members were elected to its board of directors—Michael Branham, CFP, Diana DeCharles, CFP, Paula Hogan, CFP, CFA, David "Dusty" Huxford, Jr., Martin Kurtz, CFP, AIFA, and Michael Smith, CFP. Each new board member will serve a three-year term beginning January 1, 2009.
Goldline Research has selected Highmount Capital as one of "The 10 Most Dependable Wealth Managers of the Mid Atlantic." The list will be published in the November 17th issue of Forbes Magazine. Highmount was selected for this distinction out of over 2,000 other companies.
Schwab will merge its divisions, Schwab Institutional and Schwab Corporate and Retirement Services, into a single Institutional Services unit, headed by Executive Vice President Jim McCool. This move has eliminated Charles Goldman's position within the corporation.
Fidelity Investments plans to cut 1,700 additional jobs in the first quarter of 2009, eliminating 4% of its 44,000 employees.
Week of November 14
Karen Schaeffer, CFP, the immediate past chair of the CFP Board, has been named to the board of directors of Denver-based Financial Planning Standards Board (FPSB). Schaeffer is co-founder of Schaeffer Financial in Rockville, Md. She will begin her three-year term on January 1, 2009.
Thomas A. Jones has joined DWS Investments Americas, the U.S. retail unit of Deutsche Bank AG's asset management division, as a director and head of national accounts management for its broker-dealer division in New York. Jones was a managing director and senior relationship manager at Putnam Investments in Boston.
Jeffrey B. Saef has joined BNY Mellon Asset Management of New York as director of multistrategy investment solutions. Saef most recently served as an executive vice president and director of institutional investment strategies for the Pyramis Global Advisors unit of Fidelity Investments.
Janney Montgomery Scott LLC has hired Kevin Lynch as a municipal credit analyst. Lynch has nearly 20 years of experience at Standard & Poor's, MBIA Inc. and Bank One.
SIFMA's board of directors has re-elected Chet Helck, president and chief operating officer of Raymond James Financial, Inc., for a three-year term as a member of the board.
Steve Crabtree, from UBS Financial Services, Inc., has joined Raymond James & Associates, Inc. as a senior vice president of investments at the 725 Cool Springs location in Franklin. Crabtree currently manages approximately $180 million in client assets.
Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. has promoted Michael Rudge to managing director of its U.K. branch. Rudge most recently served as distribution development director for Hartford Life Ltd., the company's European insurance arm.
Robert Murphy has joined Ivy Asset Management Corp., Bank of New York Mellon Corp.'s global fund of hedge funds unit, as director of its investment strategies group, reporting to Sean Cumiskey. Murphy previously served as a partner with Meridian Capital Partners Inc. and a member of its portfolio management group.
Gary M. Stentz has joined Invesco Ltd. as client portfolio manager for Invesco Quantitative Strategies, reporting to Donna Wilson. Stentz served as a director and the head of consultant relations for RCM Capital Management LLC since 2004.
A $5 million team from Morgan Stanley has joined Smith Barney's branch on State Street in Boston. At Morgan Stanley, Jonathan Lonske, Jonathan Hyett and Justin Fuery oversaw $347 million of client assets.
Steven R. Brown has joined American Century Investments as vice president and senior portfolio manager for the $880 million American Century Real Estate Fund. Brown most recently served as Neuberger Berman's global head of real estate securities.
Interactive Data Corporation's board of directors has selected Raymond L. D'Arcy to serve as the company's president and chief executive officer, succeeding Stuart J. Clark upon his planned retirement in 2009. D'Arcy most recently served as president of Interactive Data's sales and marketing organization.
John Reich, supervision director for the Office of Thrift, plans to step down from his post shortly. Reich has held this position at the OTS since August 2005.
Todd Fulks has joined FP Transitions, a succession, valuation, and acquisition consulting firm for the financial services industry, as general counsel, and will also work in project development. Fulks formerly served as general counsel for another industry leading consulting firm.
The US Labor Department has reported that in October, the nation's jobless rate rose to 6.5% from 6.1%. In particular, employment in financial activities declined by 24,000.
Fidelity Investments plans to eliminate 2.9% of its workforce, or 1,300 positions, by the end of the month, with a second layoff expected to occur in the first quarter of next year.
Attorney Michael Garcia has announced that no federal charges will be filed against former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who resigned in March after being linked to prostitution ring.
Richard Fuld, chief executive of Lehman Brothers, will step down at the end of the year. Fuld has served as Lehman's CEO since 1993. He will continue to serve as the firm's chairman of the board.
Week of November 7
Payroll giant ADP reported that private sector employment fell by 157,000 jobs in October. ADP's figures for September were also revised from a decrease of 8,000 jobs to 26,000 jobs.
Four directors at Hanmi Bank in Los Angeles have retired following a regulatory order requiring the bank to enhance board oversight. Won Ro Yoon, Ki Tae Hong, Chang Kyu Park, and Stuart Ahn have stepped down and the company plans to search for successors.
President-elect Barack Obama has named William Daley, JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s Midwest chairman, and Michael Froman, a former managing director at Citigroup Inc., to work on the advisory board to the Obama-Biden Transition Project.
Daniel Hayes has joined Lincoln National Corp. as head of funds management and retirement solutions, based in Radnor, Pa. Hayes formerly served as a senior vice president for Fidelity Investments.
The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., a leading provider of variable annuities in the U.S., Japan and the U.K., has appointed Michael Rudge as managing director of its U.K. branch, reporting to Marc Lieberman. Rudge joined Hartford Life Limited in 2006 as program director for the firm's pension product launch and was appointed to the role of distribution development director in August 2007.
Fred Langhammer, director of American International Group Inc. (AIG) has resigned. Langhammer said his departure was due to other commitments abroad. He serves as chairman of global affairs for Estee Lauder Cos. Inc.
Deutsche Bank has hired five former Lehman Brothers employees for its financial institutions group, including William Curley and Anthony Viscardi who will both serve as managing directors based in New York. Curley previously served as a managing director at Lehman's and head of its mortgage banking advisory practice, and Viscardi was a managing director in Lehman's financial institutions group.
President of Primark Benefits, Stephen L. Dobrow, has joined The American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA) as its new president. In addition, Donna Brewster, president and an owner of Brewster & Brewster, Inc., Mark A. Davis, a partner with Kravitz Davis Sansone, Norman Levinrad, president and chief actuary of Summit Benefit & Actuarial Services, Inc., and Lynn M. Young, managing actuary with Coble Pension Group, LLC, have joined the ASPPA's board of directors.
Bank of New York Mellon Corp. has hired Richard Brown as managing director and head of international payment and trade services for Asia, reporting to David Cruikshank. Brown formerly served as a senior Asia-Pacific business executive at Bank of America.
Richard Kovacevich, chairman of Wells Fargo & Co., will remain with the company for an interim period after its deal for Wachovia Corp. closes next month. And Wells director Philip J. Quigley is set to become its first lead director on Jan. 1.
Henry Bloch has joined Morgan Keegan & Company, Inc. as a financial advisor and senior vice president in the firm's Coral Gables office. Bloch most recently served as a financial advisor and first vice president for Oppenheimer & Co. in Caracas, Venezuela.
Christopher K. Wyczalkowski has joined MD Ellis Financial in Southern California as director of financial planning. In this position he will oversee the strategic development of the firm's financial planning efforts and drive growth objectives. Wyczalkowski previously served as vice president and co-founder of Cornerstone Advisors Group, LLC in Atlanta, GA.
The Hartford Financial Services Group has announced plans to reduce its workforce and adjust the prices and terms of its variable annuities in response to its $2.63 billion third quarter loss.
Week of October 31
The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) has cut approximately 40 people from its staff, including Christina Martin, who ran their communications department; in-house counsel Alan Sorcher; Amy Mathis, who ran the political action committee; and Jill Hershey, a Republican lobbyist who worked on municipal bond issues.
Goldman Sachs has named 94 of its worldwide professionals as partners, including chief US economist Jan Hatzius. For the complete list of Goldman employees who were named partners click here.
Great-West Retirement Services has appointed Daniel Schatz as regional director of national accounts. Schatz will be responsible for sales of retirement plans to sponsors of 401(k), 401(a), 403(b) and non-governmental 457 retirement plans in the central states. He previously served as vice president of consultant relations and investment sales at Wells Fargo Institutional Trust Services.
Don Bertrand has joined WealthTrust-Arizona as a vice president and senior financial advisor. Prior to joining WealthTrust, Don worked with Fidelity Investments in Scottsdale as a member of the Private Client Group.
Robert Moser has joined Seattle-based Laird Norton Tyee as chief client service officer and president. In this position, Moser will drive Laird Norton Tyee's client service and growth objectives, and work with the firm's executive leadership group to define the firm's strategic goals. Moser most recently served as a senior executive at SunTrust Banks.
Obermeyer Asset Management Company has opened a new office in Denver in an effort to expand its presence in the Colorado market. Obermeyer manages the wealth of affluent individuals, families, foundations and corporations.
Seth Lehman and Christopher Jumper have joined Fitch Ratings as a senior director in the global infrastructure and project finance group, and as a director in the public power group respectively. Prior to joining Fitch, Lehman served as a director and senior underwriter in the eastern region of the public finance group at Financial Guaranty Insurance Co., and Jumper served as a managing director at MBIA Insurance Corp. in the global utilities group.
Bear Stearns Merchant Banking, which spun out as an independent firm in June, plans to assume the name Irving Place Capital as of November.
Bruce Harrington has joined LPL Financial Corporation as senior vice president of retirement solutions, reporting to Stephen Langlois. In this position Harrington will oversee strategic development and management of LPL Financial's defined contribution, retirement income, and IRA/rollover solutions. Harrington most recently served as managing director for Cogent Research.
Fidelity Investments might lay off as many as 9%, or 4,000, of its 44,500 global workforce by early next year, according to reports. That would be a considerable cut, on top of 1,000 who have been laid off in the past year through three rounds.
Janus Capital is eliminating 9% of its workforce, which translates to 115 jobs.
AllianceBernstein said it will be eliminating the largest number of jobs in the past 40 years, although it did not give out figures.
Sara Bonesteel has joined Prudential Financial Inc. as the head of its structured asset management group. Bonesteel formerly served as a senior managing director for Bear Stearns Cos.' financial analytics and structured transactions group.
The CFP Board of Standards in Washington, D.C., named Robert Glovskyas chair-elect. Glovsky is president of Mintz Levin Financial Advisors in Boston.
The Hartford in Hartford, Conn., has appointed Greg McGreevey executive vice president and chief information officer as well as president of Hartford Investment Management Co. McGreevey formerly served as vice chairman and executive vice president of ING Investment Management-Americas.
National Planning Corp. in Santa Monica, Calif., has promoted Oscar Martinez and Erik Feldman to relationship managers. Martinez previously served as technology ambassador at NPC. Feldman served as vice president of practice management for National Planning Holdings.
Peter F. Volanakis has been elected to the board of directors of The Vanguard Group in Valley Forge, Pa. Volanakis is president and chief operating officer of Corning Inc. in Corning, N.Y.
Summit Brokerage Services in Boca Raton, Fla., hired Dennis Kaminski as executive VP and chief marketing officer. Kaminski formerly served as executive VP and chief administrative officer of Mutual Service Corp. in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Week of October 24
Merrill Lynch has fired more than a dozen public finance bankers and 10 sales and trading professionals this week in response to the economic crisis.
Nomura Securities International Inc. in Japan has promoted Dean Chamberlain and Sotaro Kato to run its fixed-income investment portfolio management business, succeeding Hirofumi Misawa. Kato formerly served as co-deputy head of fixed income of Nomura's U.S. investment banking arm, and Chamberlain served as Nomura's deputy head of fixed income.
IFS Financial Services Inc. has hired Gene L. Needles Jr. as its new president. Needles previously served as president and the head of U.S. retail distribution of Invesco Aim Distributors Inc.
The Treasury Department has selected James Lambright to serve as the interim chief investment officer for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, reporting to Henry Paulson Jr. and Neel Kashkari. Lambright most recently served as head of the Export/Import Bank, where he oversaw a $60 billion credit portfolio with $100 billion in financing capacity.
After its acquisition of Merrill Lynch is complete, Bank of America plans to make several new appointments. Merrill's president and chief operating officer, Greg Fleming, will become the combined company's head of global corporate and investment banking. David Darnell, Merrill's president of global commercial banking, will retain the same position. Tom Montag, Merrill's global head of sales and trading, will become head of global markets. Bob McCann, Merrill's vice chairman and president of global wealth management, will become head of the financial advisory business. And BofA's president of global wealth and investment management, Keith Banks, will become head of the US Trust and Columbia Management subsidiaries.
Merrill Lynch lost a four-person team, known as the LLBH Group, that managed nearly $1 billion in client assets. The team, which includes Bill Loftus, Bill Lomus, Kevin Burns and Jim Pratt-Heaney, have left to serve as principals of a new independent firm, LLBH Group Private Wealth Management.
Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain is said to expect thousands of job cuts in IT, operations and finance to result from its merger with Bank of America. HSBC also reportedly plans to cut 232 U.S.-based branch and cell center jobs in New York State.
David Wallis, chief risk officer and 12-year veteran of Ambac Financial Group Inc., will replace Michael Callen as Ambac's president and chief executive officer. Callen will remain as executive chairman of the board of directors.
DB Advisors, Deutsche Bank's global institutional asset management business, has appointed Kyle Delaney as head of the division in the Americas. Delaney previously served as a regional head of Private Banking and a member of PWM's US Executive Committee at Deutsche Bank's Private Wealth Management division.
California lawmakers have promoted Mac Taylor as the legislative analyst replacing incumbent Elizabeth Hill, who is retiring after 22 years in this position. Taylor has served as a deputy analyst since 1990.
Allison Couch will serve as president of LPL Financial Corporation's affiliated broker-dealer Associated Securities Corp. (ASC). Couch previously served as president and chief executive officer of The Financial Services Network ("THE NETWORK"), which recently announced it would change its broker-dealer relationship to ASC.
The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. plans to expand into Germany early next year, with a focus on selling variable annuities, and has appointed Stephan Schinnenburg as the German branch's hauptbevollmaechtigter or general manager, reporting to Marc Lieberman. Schinnenburg previously served as the head of sales and marketing for the Berlin insurance firm, IDEAL Lebensversicherung.
Approva Corporation, the risk and controls intelligence software provider, has appointed John Becker as its new chief executive officer. Becker will also join Approva's Board of Directors. He formerly served as chief executive officer of Cybertrust.
Alfred R. Camner has retired as chairman and chief executive officer of BankUnited Financial Corp., the $14.2 billion-asset company in Coral Gables, Fla. that Camner founded. BankUnited president and chief operating officer, Ramiro A. Ortiz, has now also assumed the role of CEO. The company's vice chairman, Lawrence H. Blum, has been elected chairman and board member Bradley S. Weiss has been elected vice chairman.
Citadel Investment Group has snagged Rohit D'Souza to head its capital markets business, reporting to founder and CEO Kenneth Griffin. D'Souza most recently ran Merrill Lynch's global equities and alternative investment groups.
Nick C. Thakore and Robert D. Ewing are set to join Putnam Investments as managing directors and portfolio managers of the firm's Large Cap Equities Team. Additionally, Thakore will become portfolio manager for the Putnam Voyager Fund and Ewing will become portfolio manager for the Putnam Fund for Growth and Income.
Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. has promoted Robert Paiano to senior vice president and enterprise chief risk officer, reporting to Lizabeth Zlatkus. Paiano previously served as Hartford's chief risk officer in the property/casualty operation.
Axa Distributors LLC has promoted Lee Small to national sales manager for the wholesale distribution channel serving national wire houses and regional broker-dealers. Small most recently served as a divisional vice president for Axa Distributors.
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