Jefferies Secures Former CLSA CEO as Chairman of Asia

Jefferies Group LLC, an investment banking company, continues its expansion in Asia with the appointment of the former long-time Chief Executive Jonathan Slone of CLSA, who will now operate as the chairman of Asia.

Employees of Asian brokerage CLSA are leaving in large numbers due to differences in management. Slone is part of the 50-plus regional hiring spree which has also seen analyst Christopher Wood leave the firm.

As Finance Magnates reported, Slone departed the Asia-focused broker amid differences over strategy with the company’s state-backed Chinese parent. He was replaced by Rick Gould in April as the group’s chief executive, who previously held the role of CEO of CLSA Americas.

Slone had worked for the broker for more than three decades. During this time he was the long-standing CEO and chairman of CLSA, overseeing its global operations of broking, investment banking, asset management and more.

At Jefferies, Slone will be largely responsible for the financial firm’s major relationships for investment banking and trading throughout the region, the company said in a statement on Sunday.

Jefferies bolsters its Asia team

Slone is not the only professional to join Jefferies from CLSA. In fact, the company has managed to recruit two other professionals to its Asia team - Wood, who has been named as the global head of equity strategy and Desh Peramunetilleke as head of microstrategy product.

All three professionals will be based in Hong Kong, Jefferies said. Brian Johnson, a well-known banking analyst in Australia, also joined the financial firm from CLSA towards the end of June.

Commenting on the move, Jefferies’ CEO, Rich Handler, and President, Brian Friedman said: “We are excited to welcome Jonathan as Chairman of Jefferies’ Asia business. The significant hires in recent weeks across our firm’s Asian platform represent the next stage of growth and commitment to our firm’s continued global expansion. These new additions, combined with our strong existing team, will enable Jefferies to even better serve our global client base.”

The wave of hires from CLSA comes at a time when Jefferies has significantly stepped up its Asia-focused team. According to the statement, recently, the company has hired 54 professionals across sales, trading, research and investment banking in Australia, Japan, and Hong Kong