Who hired in the Middle East during October?
October showed that the Gulf region is not immune to the global financial crisis: the region faced liquidity problems, plunging equity markets and tumbling oil prices. Still, some international firms were hiring regardless, and here's our monthly round-up of people moves in the GCC.
Bank of New York Mellon added three senior executives to its client management group in Dubai. After setting up a representative office in April, it's begun to bolster its team on the ground to develop relationships across the GCC and announced three senior appointments.
Barclays Wealth has taken on Santosh Keni as director within its international private banking team in Dubai. He joins from RBS Coutts.
Deutsche Bank beefed up its equity team as it prepares to broaden its offering in this space to include trading, sales and trading and equity capital markets. It made two senior hires and transferred two high-ranking employees from London to Dubai this month for this expanding equities platform.
Dubai International Capital made moves to rebuild its team with two senior appointments (this came after it sacked 10% of its staff through redundancies in its global equities division).
Evercore Europe hired Admiral Sir James Burnell-Nugent (previously the Royal Navy's second highest ranking officer) to build relationships with wealth families in the Gulf.
HSBC has continued its recent hiring spree within its equities team with three senior equity sales appointments. HSBC Securities Services also made three senior appointments in mid-October.
Merrill Lynch intends to secure operating licences in Qatar and Kuwait by the end of 2008. (Earlier article).
Renaissance Capital hired John Porter, formerly head of equity capital markets for the Middle East and Africa region at Morgan Stanley, as head of its new market equity underwriting business.
Sarasin has announced plans for a new asset management firm in Dubai, with the aim of attracting high-net-worth individuals in the Gulf, Middle East and North Africa regions. The newly-created firm, Sarasin-Alpen & Partners is a joint venture between in Dubai and Sarasin & Partners in London, so it's not clear whether any new jobs will be created.
Société Générale's private banking arm says it has plans to open more Middle Eastern offices in addition to its current Dubai presence, but has yet to reveal where these will be located. In Dubai, it also appointed two new managers. Dina ElYacoubi joined as vice president and head of the new women's desk for the Middle East, while Ashish Anand signed up as executive director of wealth planning and fiduciary services.
VTB, is eying Dubai as an area for expansion as it looks to cut costs closer to home. The bank intends to open a new sales and representative office for its investment banking arm in the region.
