Credit Suisse First Boston can't keep its staff, it seems, once they've seen Moscow. Less than two years after losing Boris Jordan, who opened the Russian securities market for CSFB and the rest of the world, the firm has parted company with local equities chief Peter Halloran.
Both men left to open their own Moscow-based firms. Jordan's Renaissance Capital, which this summer merged with Russian banking powerhouse MFK, part of Unexim Bank, plays a leading role in Russia's turbulent direct investment scene. Halloran's Pharos (Greek for "lighthouse") Capital Management will concentrate on portfolio investment. But the major difference between the two, the 35-year-old Halloran maintains, is that "I'm not torching the place to set myself up as a competitor".
Jordan took most of CSFB's Moscow staff with him to Renaissance. Halloran, who had been raising money for Jordan in New York since 1993, was meant to go too, but relations soured at the last minute. Halloran's own farewell to the mother ship, by contrast, has been tearfully tender. CSFB European equities boss Robin McDonald described the defector as "a seasoned professional and a major contributor to the business". Halloran expects CSFB to be among the investors in his $200 million start-up war chest.