Merrill Lynch announced today that Kevan Watts has been named chairman of Merrill Lynch’s Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Pacific Rim regions. In EMEA, he succeeds Michael Marks, who will retire in February.
Watts, who is British, has been at Merrill for 21 years.
“Kevan will build on the strong foundation already in place throughout the regions and provide broad strategic leadership for the growth of the company’s businesses with an emphasis on our continuing commitment to provide innovative products and services to our clients , “explained Stan O’Neal, Merrill Lynch CEO.
Watts will focus on business development and the management of key client relationships with individuals, corporations and governments in the EMEA region. He will chair the EMEA Executive Committee. In the Pacific Rim, he will work closely with the regional senior management
to extend Merrill Lynch’s leadership in serving issuer and investor clients throughout the various Pacific Rim markets. From early 1997 to July 2000, Watts was responsible as executive chairman, Asia Pacific region, for all of Merrill Lynch’s businesses in Asia, excluding Japan, covering the institutional and private client markets.
“Kevan has done great work in developing our non-U.S. banking franchise both in Europe and globally ,” explains Arshad Zakaria, executive vice president and head of Global Markets & Investment Banking . “He has valuable experience running a region and strong corporate relationships throughout Europe and the Pacific Rim.”
Most recently, Watts was co-head of Global Investment Banking with Sam Chapin, senior vice president. With Watts’ appointment, Chapin will assume sole responsibility for leading the company’s global investment banking activities.
He joined Merrill Lynch in New York in 1981, where he worked for two years on U.S. domestic corporate finance, primarily with airline and transportation-related clients. On his return to London, Watts was responsible for developing Merrill Lynch’s U.K. corporate client base and on recruiting the banking team to service their needs. In this capacity, he was responsible for a wide range of major financing and M&A transactions involving prominent U.K. companies, and he also played a leading role in the acquisition of Smith New Court. He was appointed head of Investment Banking for Merrill Lynch in the EMEA region in London and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee for the region in June 1993.
Prior to joining Merrill Lynch, Watts was an official at HM Treasury. He was awarded a First Class Honours degree in politics, philosophy and economics at Oxford University, where he also obtained a postgraduate degree in philosophy.