HSBC Names Wells Fargo's McGeough as New European Investment Bank Chief -- Financial News
23 April 2021 - 12:43AM
Dow Jones News
By Paul Clarke
Of Financial News
HSBC Holdings PLC has hired the former head of Wells Fargo &
Co.'s international business to lead its European investment
banking unit as 32-year veteran Philippe Henry steps down.
Lisa McGeough is joining the U.K. lender as head of global
banking for Europe, according to an internal memo seen by Financial
News and confirmed by a bank spokesman. The appointment ends an
external search for Mr. Henry, who announced his intention to
retire from the bank in February.
Ms. McGeough, one of the most senior female bankers in the City
who has previously featured on the FN 100 most influential women in
Europe list, will start at HSBC in June, reporting to global
banking and markets co-head, Greg Guyett, and HSBC's European CEO,
Colin Bell.
She joins HSBC after a 15-year career at Wells Fargo, where she
was latterly head of its international business in the City, and
has previously co-headed its corporate and investment banking
business. She has also worked at Morgan Stanley, Toronto Dominion
Securities and Citigroup in both markets and leveraged finance
roles.
"Lisa will lead client coverage across Europe and oversee the
regional product teams, as well as first-line risk management,
specifically credit, reputational, compliance and financial crime,"
the memo said.
Ms. McGeough will replace Mr. Henry, who is set to step back
from the bank later this year. Mr. Henry, a 32-year veteran of the
bank, was more recently an instrumental figure in HSBC's Brexit
planning and more recently had been handed responsibility for an
ambitious new project at the bank to help finance and distribute
Covid-19 vaccines.
Starting out on the trading floor in the 1980s as a 21-year-old,
McGeough has spoken previously about the sexism she faced in a
male-dominated world.
"It was a very different time, and I was told things like 'girls
can't trade,' when I expressed my desire to pursue that path," she
told a Wells Fargo blog. "So I started off in sales, while still
learning as much about trading as I could."
Ms. McGeough has three children and said she took five years out
of the industry before returning in the mid-1990s. She joins HSBC
as the bank is embarking on a new flexible working push, with most
of the bank's employees expected to follow a hybrid working
pattern.
HSBC's top executives including CEO Noel Quinn have given up
their offices on the 42nd floor of its Canary Wharf headquarters as
the U.K. lender looks to reduce its real estate footprint by
40%.
Ms. McGeough is a key senior appointment at HSBC in London as
the U.K. lender has started to shift senior executives from the
City to Asia. Mr. Guyett is set to move to Hong Kong, along with
Nuno Matos, chief executive of wealth and personal banking, Barry
O'Byrne, chief executive of global commercial banking, meaning key
leadership roles have shifted to the region.
As part of the latest changes, Ms. McGeough will take
responsibility for HSBC's institutional client group and public
sector teams globally, meaning heads of the units Simon Derrick and
Michael Ellam will report to her.
Website: www.fnlondon.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 22, 2021 10:28 ET (14:28 GMT)
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