JP Morgan announced a number of changes in senior banking roles across Asia-Pacific on Tuesday, as the US bank takes a more integrated approach for its investment banking franchise in the region, according to an internal memo seen by FinanceAsia and sources familiar with the situation.
The reorganisation was made as part of the bank’s effort to align the Asia-Pacific setup with its US headquarters, where product and coverage teams have a strong collaboration, according to one of the sources.
There were no new staff added as part of the reshuffle, but changes were made across product specialists, including equity and debt capital markets and advisory teams, as well as country and sector teams. As part of the reorganisation, some senior bankers are swapping between product and coverage teams.
At the management level, Carl Chien was appointed JP Morgan’s Asia-Pacific vice chairman to lead the bank’s strategic development in the region. His appointment means he will be taking on new responsibilities outside investment banking, which includes overseeing JP Morgan’s corporate banking, global trade and treasury services teams, among others.
Taiwan-born Chien first joined JP Morgan in 2002. He was most recently the bank’s North Asia head of global investment banking and senior country officer in Taiwan, and spearheaded landmark transactions including Hon Hai’s acquisition of Sharp, the biggest outbound deal in Taiwanese history.
Chien will retain his role as senior country officer for Taiwan while focusing on important client relationships for the bank in Asia-Pacific, JP Morgan said in the memo.
In investment banking, the most senior appointment is Brian Gu, who will become chairman of Asia-Pacific investment banking and a member of the global strategic advisory council.
Gu, a veteran rainmaker who joined JP Morgan in 2004, was the bank’s co-head of M&A in Asia-Pacific with a focus on telecommunications, media and technology and healthcare.
Industry and country coverage
John Hall, who was co-head of Asia-Pacific M&A alongside Gu, will become co-head of global investment banking coverage, a senior role that oversees the country, sector and advisory teams in the region. Hall will be taking on the same role as Murli Maiya, who was also promoted as co-head of global investment banking coverage from his original title as head of the Apac financial institutions group.
The appointment of Hall and Maiya fits well with JP Morgan’s overall direction of integrating product and coverage teams, since both have served in senior positions in both divisions. Hall has been the bank’s Asia-Pacific head of technology
Mac El-Omari, currently head of consumer, retail and real estate investment banking in Asia-Pacific, will be stepping up as vice chairman for global investment banking and will remain focused on the coverage group.
Another new addition to the coverage team is Nick Johnson, who will become head of global investment banking coverage for Hong Kong, Korea, Southeast Asia and Taiwan. Previously head of real estate, gaming and lodging for emerging Asia, Johnson will be returning to the coverage group after spending three years in the product team as Asia-Pacific head of equity capital markets.
Product specialists
JP Morgan is bringing new faces to lead the three main investment banking products, namely ECM, DCM and M&A advisory in Asia.
Daniel Darahem, who relocated to Asia in 2015, will succeed Johnson as head of Asia-Pacific head of ECM. Previously head of ECM for Latin America, Darahem will return to a similar role in Asia and focus on equity-related transactions, while he will also retain his existing role as head of strategic investors group and equity private placement.
For fixed income, Sudhir Goel will become head of Asia-Pacific DCM, adding Japan and Australia to his brief, while keeping his sales responsibilities in markets and investor services, a division of JP Morgan’s corporate and investment banking business that specialises in secondary trading and security services.
In the advisory capacity, JP Morgan named Kerwin Clayton and Rohit Chatterji as co-heads of M&A in Asia-Pacific, replacing Hall and Gu.
Clayton is currently head of diversified industries and energy for Asia Pacific, while Chatterji was most recently head of banking in South East Asia based in Singapore.
In the internal memo, JP Morgan said the reshuffle could strengthen the strategic dialogue with its clients and streamline co-ordination across coverage and product teams. The reorganisation was designed to better utilise resources across different teams and create a one-stop shop for investment banking clients, according to the source familiar with the situation.
