With more Manhattan office space at its disposal, Nomura of Japan seems intent to keep trying to fill it.
The Japanese firm announced on Tuesday that it had hired six more executives, filling out a number of high-ranking investment banking roles for its Americas team as it continued an expansion of its business in the Western Hemisphere.
The latest executives are:
- Georges Azzam, most recently of Société Générale, who will serve as co-chief of Americas mergers and acquisitions;
- Edward Aitken, a veteran of Merrill Lynch and most recently the Viant Group, who will become head of Americas retail investment banking;
- Richard Eisenberg, most recently of UBS, who will serve as head of media investment banking for the region;
- Ben Adams, most recently of BMO Capital Markets, who will join the health care team with a specialty in health care services;
- Christopher Turner, who will join from Barclays, will become a part of the financial sponsors practice;
- William Hunter, most recently of Jefferies and Teneo Capital, who will join the global natural resources group.
The latest additions come after a half dozen people were hired in June. They are part of Nomura’s effort to expand its investment banking practice in the Western Hemisphere, which remains the biggest source of global activity.
The firm is attempting to make some inroads in cracking the top 10 list of investment banks: It is currently ranked 10th in the Thomson Reuters list of underwriters of global equity and equity-related offerings, up from 12th last year.
Among the company’s recent assignments was advising Grifols in its $1.7 billion purchase of Novartis’s diagnostics division and supporting Penn Gaming’s separation into two companies.
Part of that effort has also included leasing 16 floors in Midtown Manhattan’s Worldwide Plaza, a more prominent perch for its Americas team.
“Nomura has significantly increased its investment banking capabilities in the Americas and is
committed to continuing its growth trajectory in strategic areas, where it can focus the strengths of the firm
and offer real value to clients,” James DeNaut, the firm’s head of Americas investment banking and joint international head of investment banking, said in a statement.