Schuler joins Markit Group as MD for sales

Marcus Schuler, formerly head of integrated credit marketing at Deutsche Bank, has joined Markit Group as MD for sales and marketing.

Schuler spent close to four years at Deutsche Bank leading the marketing and product development of flow and lightly structured credit products. He left in January as the bank confirmed a wave of 300 job cuts in its global markets division.

Prior to Deutsche Bank, he was responsible for credit derivatives marketing at JPMorgan. During his time at the US investment bank, he was involved in the creation of the benchmark iTraxx credit derivatives indices, now owned by Markit Group.

At Markit Group, the data provider and trade processing firm, Schuler will be responsible for liaising with regulators, central banks, trade associations and accounting firms across all the firm's products and services as well as geographic regions. He reports to Shane Akeroyd and Mike Rushmore, global co-heads of sales and marketing.

In a release announcing the news, Akeroyd and Rushmore said: "We are very excited to have someone of Schuler's calibre on board. He is a well-known figure in the credit markets, and his extensive capital markets knowledge will be of immense benefit as we consolidate and strengthen our relationships with key influencers such as regulators and industry bodies."

Schuler added: "Having been an active user of Markit's credit products for many years, I am delighted to be joining a firm that plays such a central role in the creation of transparency and financial market infrastructure."

Structured credit boss leaves Calyon

Calyon's head of structured credit trading, structuring and sales, Benjamin Jacquard, has moved to BNP Paribas as global head of structured credit and arbitrage trading, replacing Stephane Delacote who left BNP in April.

Based in London, Jacquard reports to global head of fixed-income trading, Guillaume Amblard. "Jacquard's appointment allows BNP Paribas to maintain its strong position in structured credit," says Amblard. "We are confident that Benjamin can help to navigate the bank through the current market conditions."

Before Calyon, Jacquard worked in structured credit positions at Bank of America and Credit Agricole.

Ex-Fidelity chief joins Putnam

Putnam Investments has named Robert Reynolds as its new president and CEO, replacing Charles Haldeman who becomes the company's new chairman. From 2000 to 2007, Reynolds was vice-chairman and chief operating officer of Fidelity Investments, and served as president of the Fidelity Investments Institutional Retirement Group from 1996 to 2000.

"For more than two decades, I have known Putnam as a formidable and respected investment management company, and, quite frankly, a very tough competitor," says Reynolds. "Putnam has a strong reputation for its broad investment management capability, distribution prowess, and award-winning service."

Citigroup loses CDO head to Babson

Andrew Godson, who ran the syndicate desk for collateralised debt obligations and structured credit in Europe at Citigroup, has left the bank.

Godson has joined investment management firm Babson Capital Europe, where he will be head of distribution, responsible for the firm's global sales activities as well as distributing products from its parent company Babson Capital Management to European investors.

Initially, Godson will focus his efforts on distribution of the company's unleveraged senior loan fund, mezzanine fund and credit opportunity fund. Godson reports to Babson Capital Europe's chief executive, Ian Hazelton, and will be based in London.

Markit adds director to index team

Markit Group has hired Scott Stark to serve as a director in its index division. Reporting to index head Stephen Flagel, he will head a new bespoke index service offering index administration, calculation and publication to third parties. According to Markit, the launch of the service follows increased index trading activity and the growth of structured products based on indices. He joins from EuroMTS, the electronic trading platform, where he was head of the index division.

Fridson's sales head

Fridson Investment Advisors, the research-driven investment management firm with a special interest in corporate credit, has named Sean Bailey as head of sales. He will be the first person to serve in this capacity at the firm, which was set up in May this year. In a 30-year sales career Bailey has worked at Credit Suisse First Boston, Daiwa, Deutsche Bank and UBS.

Highland hires for institutional sales

Dallas-based alternative investment manager Highland Capital Management has named Maureen Mitchell as institutional sales head. She will report to partner and business development head Jack Yang and lead a sales team focusing on institutions such as endowments and foundations, public funds, insurers, corporations, funds of funds and other investment advisers. Before joining Highland, Mitchell was a senior MD at Bear Stearns Asset Management, where for 10 years she worked on global distribution.

Prada relinquishes Iosco role

Michel Prada, president of the Autorite des Marches Financiers - the French financial regulator - has stepped down from his role as chairman of the technical committee for the International Organization of Securities Commissions (Iosco).

Prada relinquished his post after the Iosco conference held in Paris at the end of May. He has been replaced by Christopher Cox, chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The technical committee of Madrid-based Iosco comprises 15 global regulators and oversees the securities industry.

Hans Hoogervoorst, chairman of the executive board of the Dutch financial regulator, was elected vice-chair of the technical committee at the same time.

CWT promotes debt restructuring specialists

Karl Clowry and Jackson Taylor, both members of the financial restructuring department at law firm Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft in London, have been promoted to partner.

Clowry has experience in debt restructuring and corporate refinancing. He was lead counsel for the second-lien lenders in the recent Schefenacker restructuring. He has acted for lenders, bondholders, distressed investors, insolvency practitioners and corporate debtors.

Taylor focuses on cross-border corporate restructuring. He primarily acts for institutional creditors and ad hoc creditors' committees on restructuring financially distressed companies outside of formal insolvency proceedings. He acted in the restructuring of British Energy and Eurotunnel, and the equitisation of MyTravel.

VTB hires banking head

VTB Bank has appointed Mikhail Butrin as co-head of global banking in its investment business. He joins from Deutsche Bank in Russia, where he worked in the corporate finance team.

Prior to Deutsche Bank, Butrin worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Investment Bank ARQ and Flemings. Sectors he has been involved in include energy and air transport.

Misra departs Deutsche Bank to set up fund

Rajeev Misra, Deutsche Bank's global head of credit and commodities, has left the bank to set up a special opportunities fund, in which the German bank is planning to invest.

Colin Fan and Boaz Weinstein, co-heads of global credit trading at Deutsche Bank, who look after the day-to-day running of the credit department, will now report directly to Anshu Jain, head of global markets. Weinstein is based in New York and Fan is based in London.

Deutsche Bank merged its credit and commodities trading desks in September 2006, with Misra taking charge of the new department. The commodities business was previously part of foreign exchange under global head of currencies and commodities, Jim Turley.

Misra joined Deutsche in 1997 from Merrill Lynch. Since then, he has built up a reputation as a leading figure in the CDS market, and was influential in the merger of the iBoxx and Trac-x indices, which formed iTraxx.

At Deutsche, he helped develop the German bank's global credit derivatives franchise across several asset classes - emerging markets, investment grade, high yield and asset-backed.

Misra was named in Credit's Hall of Fame in 2005.