Finance

Here’s a rundown of 23 top healthcare banker moves as firms look to staff up with talent in the red-hot space

  • Healthcare investment bankers are in high demand, and many rainmakers are on the move.
  • Firms like SVB Leerink, JPMorgan, and Deutsche Bank are all hiring top talent.
  • Insider is tracking all of the big moves in the healthcare banking world.

Healthcare bankers are a hot commodity.

Charles Anderson, who leads Heidrick & Struggles’ corporate- and investment-banking recruiting business, earlier this year described healthcare searches as being “extremely, extremely active.” Banks are looking to staff up with specialists who can help companies at the intersection of healthcare and other tech verticals, such as payment technology.

Anderson’s firm, which handles mostly senior-level placements, has been looking for bankers specializing in biotech, pharma, financial sponsors, and mergers-and-acquisitions work in healthcare.

This year’s big healthcare deals have included Thermo Fisher Scientific’s announced acquisition of PPD, a clinical-research and laboratory-services company, in April for more than $17 billion cash plus $3.5 billion in net debt.

The next month Ginkgo Bioworks Inc. and the Soaring Eagle Acquisition Corp. special-purpose acquisition company announced a merger in a deal worth $17.5 billion. And healthcare supplier Medline’s buyout by a trio of private-equity firms marked the largest-ever PE purchase in healthcare.

SVB Leerink, a Boston-based subsidiary of SVB Financial Group, has been one of the firms making waves lately for a series of senior-level hires.

According to Anderson, the recruiter, a handful of midsize firms with strong equity-research and ECM capabilities “have been able to leverage those capabilities and good bankers to do an enormous amount of ECM deals in the emerging growth/biotech space, which is a very hot space.”

With poaching among big banks, a wave of hires by smaller shops, and even some people jumping to work at healthcare companies themselves, we’ve got the details on where senior dealmakers have departed lately and where they’ve ended up.


Helen Oesch

A headshot of Helen Oesch

Helen Oesch
Deutsche Bank

Previous firm: BMO Capital Markets

Previous role: Heatlhcare managing director

When their move was announced: August 10

Where they’re going: Deutsche Bank

What they’re doing now: Managing director and c0-lead the bank’s coverage of BioPharma clients in the Americas


Spencer Watts

A headshot of Spencer Watts

Spencer Watts
Deutsche Bank

Previous firm: Nomura

Previous role: Healthcare investment banking executive director

When their move was announced: August 10

Where they’re going: Deutsche Bank

What they’re doing now: Managing Director and head of healthcare facilities & clinical outsourcing coverage


Bradley Wolff

A headshot of Bradley Wolff where he is looking at the camera and wearing a blue suit, white shirt and blue and red-patterned tie.

Bradley Wolff
LinkedIn

Previous firm: Citi

Previous role: Head of West Coast life sciences

When their move was reported: June 24

Where they’re going: Evercore

What they’re doing now: Senior managing director

Sources told Insider, which first reported the news of Wolff’s hire, that he’s bringing a small team of junior bankers from Citi with him, although the exact number is unclear.


Hank Yeh

A photo of Hank Yeh from the shoulders up, smiling at the camera and wearing a navy suit, blue shirt, and purple tie.

Hank Yeh
LinkedIn

Previous firm: Goldman Sachs

Previous role: Vice president

When their move was announced:June 24

Where they’re going: Evercore

What they’re doing now: Managing director


Ben Brown

Previous firm: Baird

Previous role: Managing director, head of global pharma services investment banking

When their move was announced: June 22

Where they’re going: SVB Leerink

What they’re doing now: Senior managing director with a focus on pharma services


Jon Swope

Previous firm: Bank of America

Previous role: Managing director in the global healthcare investment banking group

When their move was announced: June 21

Where they’re going: SVB Leerink

What they’re doing now: Managing director in healthcare investment banking focused on healthtech and digital health

Swope will be based in New York and will report to healthcare investment banking head Barry Blake, SVB Leerink said in a press release.


Ryan Kaeding

Previous firm: Piper Sandler

Previous role: Director

When their move was announced: June 8

Where they’re going: Raymond James

What they’re doing now: Managing director in MedTech

Kaeding will be based in Los Angeles and focus on advising clients in the medical devices space, Raymond James said in a press release. He brings experience from having advised on more than 65 MedTech transactions, the company added.


Bob Jackey

Previous role: Managing director in healthcare services, Citigroup

When their move was announced: June 16

Where they’re going: SVB Leerink

What they’re doing now: Managing director in healthcare services

SVB Leerink said in a press release that hiring Jackey will help “serve to expand SVB Leerink’s expertise in life sciences and healthcare technology.” Jackey will be based in New York and report to Barry Blake, global co-head of healthcare investment banking.


Chuck Adams

Adams, Chuck

Chuck Adams
Citi

Previous firm: Goldman Sachs

Previous role: Partner

When their move was announced: June 2, 2021

Where they’re going: Citigroup

What they’re doing now: Vice chairman and global head of the newly-formed global healthcare, consumer & wellness “super group,” according to an internal memo reviewed by Insider.


Dino Dedić

Dino Dedic _ Guggenheim

Courtesy of Guggenheim Securities

Previous firm: Barclays

Previous role: Managing director in global healthcare banking

When their move was announced: May 17, 2021

Where they’re going: Guggenheim Securities

What they’re doing now: Senior managing director in healthcare investment banking, focusing on advising clients in pharmaceuticals and animal health, the firm said.


Christopher Gartin

1519346870095

Christopher Gartin.
LinkedIn

Previous firm: Citigroup

Previous role: Managing director for healthcare investment banking

When their move was announced: May 21

Where they’re going: JPMorgan

What they’re doing now: Managing director for healthcare investment banking

Previously, Gartin has worked on deals for healthcare clients like Celgene Corp. in its $74 billion sale to Bristol Myers Squibb in 2019, Bloomberg reported.


Anurag Jindal

Previous firm: Bank of America

Previous role: Managing director in the healthcare-banking group, with a focus on the biotech sector

When their move was announced: May 20

Where they’re going: SVB Leerink

What they’re doing now: Senior managing director on the biopharma team


M. Toby King

Previous firm: Citi

Previous Role: Managing director and head of North America healthcare

When their move was announced: May 18

Where they’re going: SVB Leerink

What they’re doing now: Senior managing director in healthcare services


Priyanka Verma

Priya120521

Priyanka Verma.
Deutsche Bank

Previous firm: HSBC

Previous Role: Managing director of healthcare investment banking

When their move was announced: May 13

Where they’re going: Deutsche Bank

What they’re doing now: Managing director and Americas head of pharma services and diagnostics division


Richard Singh

Singh_Richard_Colorprint2021.JPG

Richard Singh.
Piper Sandler

Previous firm: Gleacher Shacklock

Previous role: Partner

When their move was announced: May 11

Where they’re going: Piper Sandler

What they’re doing now: Managing director in healthcare investment banking

Singh will be based in London, the company said in a press release, adding that his addition reflects the firm’s “European healthcare investment banking growth strategy.”


Jack Bannister

Jack Bannister

Jack Bannister.
SVB Leerink

Previous firm: Goldman Sachs

Previous role: Vice president of the healthcare equity-capital-markets team

When their move was announced: April 8

Where they’re going: SVB Leerink

What they’re doing now: Managing director on the equity-capital-markets team, focusing on healthcare and life-sciences companies


Ben Carpenter

Previous firm: Citi

Previous role: Global head of life-sciences M&A

When their move was announced: April 7

Where they’re going: JPMorgan

What they’re doing now: Cohead of healthcare M&A

In his new role at JPMorgan, Carpenter will help supervise deals focusing on biopharmaceuticals, Bloomberg reported in April, citing an internal JPMorgan memo.


Paul Tomasic

PT Photo April2 1

Paul Tomasic.
Houlihan Lokey

Previous firm: RBC Capital Markets

Previous role: Managing director and head of European healthcare

When their move was announced: April 7

Where they’re going: Houlihan Lokey

What they’re doing now: Managing director and head of European healthcare


Andrew Fineberg

Andrew Fineberg

Andrew Fineberg.
SVB Leerink

Previous firm: MTS Health Partners

Previous role: Partner and head of royalty monetization services

When their move was announced: April 6

Where they’re going: SVB Leerink

What they’re doing now: Managing director of structured finance

Fineberg advises corporate, academic, and medical nonprofit institutions on royalty monetization and private credit, according to his official company bio.


Thaddeus Davis

Thad Davis

Thaddeus Davis.
SVB Leerink

Previous firm: HSBC

Previous role: Head of US healthcare investment banking

When their move was announced: April 1

Where they’re going: SVB Leerink

What they’re doing now: Senior managing director, leveraged finance


Barry Blake

Barry Blake

Barry Blake.
SVB Leerink

Previous firm: Guggenheim Securities

Previous role: Senior managing director focused on advising healthcare-services companies

When their move was announced: February 16

Where they’re going: SVB Leerink

What they’re doing now: Global cohead of investment banking


Charlie Newton

1592751671936 1

Charlie Newton.
LinkedIn

Previous firm: Bank of America

Previous role: Cohead of healthcare investment banking in the Americas

When their move was announced: February 9

Where they’re going: Lyell Immunopharma

What they’re doing now: Chief financial officer


Jeffrey Thomas

Previous firm: Laborie

Previous role: Chief corporate-development officer

When their move was announced: May 28

Where they’re going: Piper Sandler

What they’re doing now: Managing director in healthcare investment banking, covering medtech and life-sciences tools and diagnostics


Did we miss someone? Share news and tips with Samantha Stokes at sstokes@insider.com, on Signal at 646-389-7866, or direct message on Twitter @stokessamanthaj. Contact Reed Alexander at ralexander@insider.com, on Signal at 561-247-5758, or direct message on Twitter @reedalexander.

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