Barclays rebuilds top team at investment bank unit
Barclays has reshuffled its investment banking team, promoting people to senior positions in Asia, Europe and the US to fill gaps created when executives left after it announced a sweeping restructuring of the underperforming division.
The moves are a sign that Tom King, who took sole command of Barclays’ investment bank as part of a strategic shake-up announced in April, is putting his mark on the bank’s biggest division by promoting his allies to top positions.
In the US, the bank has promoted Gary Posternack, its head of mergers and acquisitions in the Americas, to become global head of M&A.
In Asia, it has appointed Reid Marsh, chairman of its global industrials group, to become co-head of investment banking in the region.
In Europe, Mark Warham is quitting as head of M&A in the region to join Rothschild as a vice-chairman focused on UK deals. He is being replaced by Matthew Ponsonby, who will also continue as co-chief operating officer of the investment bank.
Both Mr Ponsonby and Mr Marsh are former Citigroup bankers who followed Mr King after he joined Barclays in 2009 from the US lender, where he was head of banking in Europe.
Barclays has suffered a string of senior departures since it announced plans to cut 7,000 of the 26,000 people working in its investment banking unit by 2016. Across all divisions, Barclays plans to cut 19,000 jobs from its 140,000 strong workforce.
Mr Warham was hired from Morgan Stanley in 2009 as part of a big hiring spree by the bank’s former chief executive Bob Diamond to build up its European investment banking operations.
In terms of deal volume, Barclays global M&A business ranks sixth in industry league tables and 13th in the Emea region, according to data from Dealogic, a fall from 2013 where they ranked fifth in both categories.
One person said Mr Warham was disappointed to be passed over in the latest round of promotions but another said he had been in discussions with Rothschild for several months. Both Barclays and Mr Warham declined to comment.
Mr Posternack, a former Lehman Brothers banker specialising in the energy sector, joined Barclays when it acquired the US operations of the collapsed bank in 2008. He is replacing Paul Parker, who quit as global head of M&A in May.
Mr Marsh, a specialist in advising carmakers, is replacing Matthew Ginsburg, who stepped down from the helm of the Asian investment bank in May. The other co-head of its Asian investment bank is expected to be promoted from within the region.
Other big name departures from Barclays recently include Stuart Francis, one of the most experienced US technology bankers, Skip McGee, head of its US investment bank, and Jason Rynbeck, its top dealmaker in Asia.
Source: ft
