NEW YORK & HONG KONG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jefferies announced today the appointment of Michael Alexander as CEO of Jefferies Asia. Mr. Alexander will be responsible for building Jefferies’ full-service equity research, sales and trading offering in Hong Kong, India, Japan, Singapore, Korea and Taiwan. He will join Jefferies in October and will be based in Hong Kong.

The founding team includes additional senior sales, trading and research professionals who will also join Jefferies’ equity business in Asia over the next several months. Jefferies continues to recruit additional talented professionals to complete this team.

“The establishment of a full service Pan-Asian equities business is consistent with Jefferies’ strategy to be a global, full-service securities and investment banking firm,” commented Richard B. Handler, Chairman and CEO of Jefferies. “The equities capability Mike Alexander will build, together with our existing investment banking and fixed income presence in Asia, which we intend to expand, will allow Jefferies to provide investors and issuers throughout the region with quality ideas and execution that will help them fulfill their goals.”

“We are truly excited to have Mike and this initial group of key professionals join the Jefferies team. These talented and proven professionals will build a meaningful equities business for Jefferies in Asia as we continue to further expand our sales and trading business globally,” commented Jason Griffith, Global Head of Equities at Jefferies. “Jefferies will continue to add top talent across all regions as we further strengthen and grow the firm’s 48-year equity franchise with a focus on serving the broad needs of our investor client base globally.”

Mr. Alexander brings 25 years of experience in sales and trading to Jefferies, and joins from CLSA, where he spent five years, most recently as Group Head of Sales and Sales Trading. Previously, he spent two years at Deutsche Bank, six at JP Morgan and ten at Ord Minnett Securities. Mr. Alexander received a Bachelor of Economics and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Queensland.

Additional professionals who are expected to join Jefferies in the coming months include:

Nilesh Jasani as a Managing Director and Head of Asia-Pacific Research. Mr. Jasani has 17 years of experience and joins from Credit Suisse, where he worked for over five years, most recently as Head of India Research. Previously, Mr. Jasani headed research teams in various Asian countries including Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore, at HSBC Securities Asia, SG Securities and CLSA.

Chris Shute as a Managing Director and Head of Asian Sales and Sales Trading. He has 13 years of experience and joins from CLSA, where he was Head of Hedge Funds. Previously, Mr. Shute also served in senior positions at Credit Suisse and UBS.

Grant Williams as a Managing Director and Head of Asia Cash Equity Trading. He has 25 years of experience and was most recently an Executive Director at BTIG. Previously, Mr. Williams spent a total of eight years at Credit Suisse, most recently as a Director for Equity Trading, and also worked at Banc of America Securities, Banco Santander Negocios, UBS and Robert Fleming / Jardine Fleming.

Tom Halliwell as a Managing Director and Head of Asian Hedge Fund Sales. Mr. Halliwell has 13 years of experience and joins from CLSA where he was a Hedge Fund Sales Trader. Previously, Mr. Halliwell also worked at HSBC, Lehman Brothers, Gandhara Capital, Westpac Institutional Bank and Bankers Trust.

Phil Lord as a Managing Director and Asian Sales Trader. Mr. Lord has 17 years of experience and joins from CLSA where he was a Sales Trader. Previously, Mr. Lord also worked at ICAP, Instinet and HSBC.

Michael Collett as a Managing Director and Asian Sales Trader. Mr. Collett has 17 years of experience and joins from CLSA where he was a Sales Trader. Previously, Mr. Collett also worked at ICAP, Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers and Dresdner Kleinwort.

Quinn Bolon as a Senior Vice President and Asian Sales Trader. Mr. Bolon has seven years of experience and joins from CLSA where he was Head of Hedge Fund Research. Previously, Mr. Bolon also worked at Nomura and Lehman Brothers.

Jefferies’ global equities group consists of more than 650 professionals globally, including 120 outside the US. The firm offers sales and trading services in a full range of equity products, including cash equities, electronic trading, equity derivatives, exchange traded funds, prime brokerage and securities finance.

Jefferies, a global securities and investment banking firm, has served companies and their investors for more than 48 years. Jefferies & Company, Inc. is the principal US operating subsidiary of Jefferies Group, Inc. (NYSE: JEF: www.jefferies.com), and Jefferies International Limited is the principal UK operating subsidiary. Jefferies International Limited, a UK-incorporated company, is authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Services Authority.