Biographies
Steven A. Blakey, Chief Executive Officer
Formerly Head of the International Credit Business at Merrill Lynch, Steven Blakey played a pivotal role in the creation of the publicly traded Eurobond Market for credit sensitive securities. Pioneering the use of swaps and derivatives as a method of managing risk in multi-billion dollar trading portfolios, Steven was also a key driver in the development of a growing investor base for mid-investment grade securities several years before the inception of the EMU and the single currency. Steven is a graduate of Bristol University and barrister-at-law.
Stephen M. Zinser, Chief Investment Officer
Prior to co-founding ECM in 1999, Stephen Zinser was responsible for overseeing European credit intensive new issues and asset-backed securities at Merrill Lynch in London. He has extensive management and transaction experience in European structured finance and asset securitisation, investment grade and high yield corporates, leveraged loans and the Middle Eastern and Eastern European emerging markets. Before joining Merrill Lynch in 1993, Stephen was Director of Loan Syndications at Chase Investment Bank in London. Stephen is a graduate of Cornell University.
Joseph A. Biernat, Chief Investment Strategist
Joe Biernat is one of the most experienced securities analysts specialising in credit, based in London. Joe joined ECM from Paribas where he served as Global Head of Credit Research. Building his own teams at Deutsche Bank and Merrill Lynch, Joe played an active role in the development of the European credit markets. Joe is Chairman of the Bond Committee of the UK Society of Investment Analysts. He holds an MBA from Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute, a BA from Gettysburg College and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
Frances Hutchinson, Head of Research
Frances has been an investment analyst since 1992 and began covering European credits in 1993. Fran joined ECM in May 2004 as a Senior Investment Analyst from HSBC Bank plc, where she was head of the European Credit Research team. She was named head of Research for ECM in January 2008. Prior to joining HSBC in London in 1999, Hutchinson was an investment analyst for UNUM Corporation, a US insurance holding company. Fran holds an MBA from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business and an AB from Bowdoin College. She is a CFA charter holder and is a member of The CFA Society of the UK and the European High Yield Association.
Jeremy Wrigley, Finance Director
As CFO of Merrill Lynch’s global credit business, Jeremy Wrigley developed risk controls and reporting techniques that streamlined the monitoring of multi-billion dollar trading portfolios. Jeremy was also responsible for an operation settling large volumes each week across a wide variety of currencies and instruments. Jeremy is a chartered accountant and a graduate of Newcastle-on-Tyne University.