Andrew Pisker has a solid reputation in the international bond markets. While at Lehman Brothers (1982-96) he became the bank's youngest managing director, was instrumental - in conjunction with the Asian Development Bank - in the establishment of the dragon bond market and accumulated numerous industry awards. There was plenty of speculation in the market as to where he might go next.
The answer came at the beginning of May. Pisker's new employer was to be Dresdner Kleinwort Benson. The German bank needed a big-name appointment to stabilize its debt division, following the departure of former head TJ Lim and a host of senior bankers. Sadly for Dresdner, no sooner had TJ Lim's team hit its stride than the aborted merger laid waste to it. Predictably Pisker says this is a "great opportunity", but his expectations are not entirely rose-tinted. "No-one has suggested that it's going to be easy because clearly there has been the small subject of the Deutsche Dresdner merger which didn't happen," he says. "But I have been given the chance to build a business along a unitary debt platform. The firm has a fully-functioning working equity division, a fully-functioning working corporate finance division and a markets division.