Barclays employees leave for UBS

Several prominent technology, media, and telecom investment bankers from Barclays Plc have resigned and joined UBS Group AG in the United States, according to sources familiar with the matter. In the past few days, at least seven bankers have made the move, adding to the trio of Barclays bankers that UBS hired last month. These developments highlight UBS’s efforts to strengthen its talent pool in the United States, even as it prepares to absorb Credit Suisse Group AG’s investment banking group following a government-led takeover in March. Notably, many Credit Suisse bankers are based in the United States.

The individuals who have joined UBS from Barclays include Laurence Braham, Richard Hardegree, Richard Casavechia, Ozzie Ramos, Jason Williams, Neil Meyer, and Ken Tittle, as per the sources. Their departures follow the earlier moves of Marco Valla, Jeff Hinton, and Kurt Anthony from Barclays to UBS, which were announced in April. The sources have requested anonymity due to the confidential nature of the personnel matters. Barclays has not yet responded to requests for comment, while UBS has declined to comment on the matter.

UBS and Credit Suisse, both headquartered in Zurich, have long been competitors in the global mergers and initial public offerings landscape. Last month, Reuters reported that UBS intends to retain only a small number of senior bankers from Credit Suisse who have strong client relationships. Credit Suisse had planned to spin off its investment banking operations into a separate entity led by veteran dealmaker Michael Klein, but UBS opposed this plan following the rescue of its Swiss counterpart.

Among the departing Barclays bankers, Laurence Braham held the position of global chair of investment banking for technology, while Richard Hardegree was the vice chair and head of technology M&A. They have been involved in notable technology sector deals, such as Broadcom Inc’s $61 billion acquisition of business software maker VMware Inc in 2022. Richard Casavechia was the global chair of banking at Barclays, Ozzie Ramos served as the vice chair and head of communications, cable, and satellite, and Jason Williams, Neil Meyer, and Ken Tittle held managing director roles in the investment banking group.