By Pamela Barbaglia
LONDON, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Credit Suisse has hired
Francesco Bedina from Guggenheim Partners to head its energy and
infrastructure franchise in Europe, the Middle East and Africa -
the latest in a string of appointments to fill key investment
banking jobs.
Bedina, who was head of European power, energy and
renewables at the U.S. investment bank, will join the Swiss
lender in December and will be based in London, according to a
memo seen by Reuters.
His appointment comes as Switzerland's second-largest lender
has embarked on a strategic review of its operations with
Chairman Antonio Horta-Osorio promising a new strategy by the
end of the year.
The Swiss lender has been battling to retain top talent in
the wake of the crises which prompted a raft of executives to
leave, and has recently poached bankers from HSBC and
Deutsche Bank to beef up its fintech and financial
institutions teams.
Bedina will take the reins of a newly-created energy and
infrastructure group focused exclusively on EMEA clients, said
the memo which was signed by Rob Santangelo and Randy Bayless
-co-heads of global energy and infrastructure - and Jens Welter,
head of EMEA investment banking.
A seasoned dealmaker, Bedina will also oversee key ESG
decisions as a member of the investment banking ESG steering
committee chaired by Credit Suisse's head of business
development Amy Clack.
He started his career at UBS in 1997 where he
nurtured relationships with some of Europe's biggest power
companies and became European head of renewable energy and
co-head of European utilities investment banking before leaving
in 2008.
Bedina held senior roles at advisory boutiques Neos Dialogos
and Altium Capital before joining Guggenheim Partners in 2017.
(Reporting By Pamela Barbaglia, Editing by Louise Heavens)