Barclays Capital hires Johan Leven

Barclays Capital (BarCap) has hired Johan Leven to co-head corporate finance for Asia-Pacific together with Richard Gallivan.

Leven joins at the level of managing director, reporting to Matthew Ginsburg, who heads investment banking for Asia-Pacific, and to Ros Stephenson and Tom King, who co-head global corporate finance.

Ginsburg joined BarCap in 2009 from Morgan Stanley. Since then he has been seeking to build the firm's investment banking capabilities. Both Leven and Gallivan are based in Hong Kong. Their role is to lead the firm's industry and country coverage groups in Asia-Pacific, and to manage relationships with key clients across the region.

By hiring Leven, BarCap has gained a career Goldman Sachs banker. Leven joined Goldman in 1990 in London and worked there until he resigned in June 2009. He moved to Hong Kong in 2001, following a two-year stint with the Wall Street investment bank in Sydney.

Leven was co-head of mergers and acquisitions for Asia ex-Japan at Goldman when he announced his resignation. His fellow co-head, Richard Campbell-Breeden, who transferred from London in August 2008, became sole head of M&A when Leven left.

Jason Rynbeck heads advisory for Asia-Pacific at BarCap. Rynbeck was poached from ABN AMRO along with a team of senior bankers in May 2008 to kick-start BarCap's investment banking, and specifically its M&A, business.