BMO Nesbitt Burns has bolstered its U.S. team with five new additions, continuing a hiring spree that's seen it add more than 450 people worldwide since last year.
Alexander (Sandy) Ayer joins as a New York-based managing director in the M&A group, reporting to Scott Humphrey, head of U.S. M&A. Mr. Ayer has more than 16 years of deal experience, as well as strategic advisory experience from time spent at JP Morgan and Bear Stearns.
Noam Cohen also joins as a New York-based managing director, but will be working in the food, consumer and retail group, where he will be spearheading the non-food retailing business. Mr. Cohen, who has more than 23 years of investment banking experience most recently as a managing director at Berenson & Company, will report to Greg Pearlman, head of the food, consumer and retail group.
Les Gorman, who was previously a managing director at Lehman, becomes a managing director and senior client coverage officer in BMO's New York office. He will report to Perry Hoffmeister and serve on the U.S. investment and corporate banking management committee.
Paul Griffin, who was a managing director and head of software investment banking at Cowen and Company, will now be leading BMO's U.S. software investment banking efforts out of the Boston office. Prior to Cowen, Mr. Griffin spent 10 years at CIBC World Markets where he helped to start up CIBC's U.S. software investment banking team.
Finally, David Parrot joins BMO's San Francisco office as a managing director in the healthcare team, reporting to Michael Neuberger, head of the healthcare group. Mr. Parrot has 20 years of investment banking experience, having worked at Piper Jaffray and Swiss Bank Corp. For the past year he's been a managing director and head of healthcare banking at Montgomery & Co.
Of the 450 hires that BMO Nesbitt Burns has made this year, 112 have been in the United States.