Joan Beck, the 55-year-old former Deputy Chairman of CSFB from 1984 to 1995, is to succeed Pen Kent as chairman of the European Securities Forum (ESF), the London-based investment banking lobbying group which recently decided not to activate its sunset clause, and to seek a more communautaire corporate personality.
A Dutch national with an MBA from INSEAD, Beck ran the Euromarkets new issues business at Merrill Lynch Europe and Morgan Stanley International before joining CSFB. Subsequently, he was vice chairman of HSBC Investment Bank until 1999. The position of chairman is non-executive: a full time chief-executive is expected to be appointed by ESF shortly. Kent will remain on the ESF Board for a short period.