Jefferies Expands Asia Equities Sales and Trading

In a further expansion of the firm’s global equities business, Jefferies announced today the addition of four Managing Directors in Asia. The following professionals have recently joined the firm: Marcus Okuno, who joins as a Managing Director in Equity Sales in Tokyo; Chua Lee Leng, who joins as a Managing Director in Equity Sales and Trading in Singapore; Lisa Lau, who joins as a Managing Director and Co-Head of Hong Kong and China Sales Trading in Hong Kong; and Conor O’Mara, who joins as a Managing Director in Equity Sales and Trading in Hong Kong.

"We are very pleased to welcome Marcus, Lee Leng, Lisa and Conor to Jefferies. Their significant experience and outstanding reputations make them important additions to our global Equities business,” commented Michael Alexander, CEO of Jefferies Asia. "These hires demonstrate Jefferies’ ongoing commitment to provide our institutional clients with a full suite of equity research, sales and trading products and services on a global basis.”

"The addition of these senior professionals is another step in the continued expansion of our global equities platform into Asia, a region which is incredibly important to our business,” added Jason Griffith, Global Head of Equities at Jefferies. "Jefferies continues to gain market share as we add to our global platform to better serve our institutional client base.”

Jefferies' Global Equities business provides full-service research, sales and execution services across cash equities, electronic trading, equity derivatives, exchange traded funds, convertibles, prime brokerage, and securities finance. The group is comprised of over 700 professionals in research, sales, and trading across the U.S., Europe and Asia, including over 250 research professionals covering over 1,300 companies globally.

Mr. Okuno joins Jefferies from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where he spent 13 years and was most recently a Director in Equity Sales. Previously, he was a Vice President in Equity Sales at Robertson Stephens and, prior to that, worked for Salomon Smith Barney in Equity Derivatives Sales. He received a BS from Menlo College.

Ms. Chua brings to Jefferies just over 17 years of experience and joins the firm from UBS, where she was Executive Director, Regional Equity Sales. Previously, she was Head of Equity Sales at HSBC in Singapore, and prior to that was a Director in Equity Sales at Merrill Lynch in Hong Kong and Australia. She received a BSc from the University of Melbourne, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Operations Research from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.

Ms. Lau brings to Jefferies 17 years of experience and joins the firm from China International Capital Corporation Limited, where she spent seven years and was an Executive Director and Head of Equity Sales Trading. Previously, she spent four years at Societe Generale, where she was a Sales Trader covering the Asia region. Prior to that, she was Head of Hong Kong Trading at Paribas.

Mr. O'Mara brings to Jefferies 17 years of experience and joins from Morgan Stanley, where he was an Executive Director running a long/short Asian technology book in that firm's Strategic Investment Group. Previously, he was a Fund Manager at Balyasny Asset Management, covering Asian technology stocks, and prior to that, founded and became the Fund Manager of the HSBC Global Technology Alpha fund, a market neutral long/short fund focused on Asian technology stocks. Before that, he co-founded Arete Research, Europe's first independent research broker. He started his career at Dresdner RCM, managing global equity portfolios, with a focus on Japan. He received an MSc in Finance from London Business School and a first class honours BA from Dublin City University.

Jefferies Group, Inc. (NYSE: JEF), a global securities and investment banking firm, has served companies and investors for nearly 50 years.