Transplanting sales talent carries risks
Recruiters say smaller banks are becoming wary of hiring derivatives sales staff from larger rivals.
"It takes a very special kind of individual to move from a big bank to a smaller one and to make a success of it," says Alex Tracey, a consultant at search firm Clifden Partners. "To make it work, you need to be incredibly smart and to approach clients who slip below big banks' radar."
Last month Joachim Willnow, global head of equity derivatives sales and trading left Nomura following a bout of restructuring some two years after joining from Merrill Lynch.
Although other former members of Merrill's team remain in place, one consultant says Willnow's exit illustrates the difficulty of transplanting sales teams. "Nomura tried to buy in a marketing team and failed," he says. "People who come from larger banks are used to having a strong platform receiving assistance from ancillary functions, like M&A which share corporate relationships. You don't get that at smaller houses."
Banks like Wachovia are understood to be currently building equity derivative sales teams. Despite possible misgivings, recruiters say most are still eager to poach from established players: "In reality, there are so few people around and smaller banks are so desperate to get staff on board that they can't afford to be picky," says one.
