Global securities lending agent eSecLending has appointed Peter Economou, former executive vice president and global head of Securities Finance & Portfolio Solutions at State Street, as its chief risk officer.
Economou will be responsible for oversight and strategic development of enterprise risk management globally. He will report to co-CEOs Karen OConnor and Chris Jaynes.
Most recently Economou was a senior adviser at Morgan Stanley. Prior to that, he was one of the eight State Street securities finance executives that left the firm in 2010 to join Premier Global Securities Lending (PGSL), a third-party securities lending startup founded by Craig Starble, former executive vice president and global head of securities finance at State Street who left the custodian to found PGSL.
State Street later sued Starble, accusing the former employee of having raided its securities finance team to recruit staff for PGSL. PGSL ultimately closed after failing to attract investors, and the lawsuit was settled, Starble told Global Custodian last year.
Since then, numerous former State Street/PGSL executives have joined other firms. Paul Lynch, who also had been named in the lawsuit along with Economou and Starble, became COO at eSecLending. Oberon Knapp, who was senior vice president of PGSL and before that a managing director at State Street, became senior vice president of business development at eSecLending. Another, Michael McAuley, became managing director of global securities lending at BNY Mellon.
The chief risk officer position is a new one at eSecLending.
In recognition of the industrys advancement and increasing focus on risk management, this new role has been established to ensure eSecLending remains at the forefront of managing risk for our company and our clients, OConnor says. This appointment demonstrates our companys ongoing commitment to strengthen the breadth and depth of our team and we look forward to leveraging Peters leadership experience and deep understanding of the industry to enhance our existing risk management practices.
Economou adds: With an alignment of client interests and a model that favors independence, transparency and discipline, eSecLending has demonstrated success in adapting to the industrys evolution by continuously developing risk adjusted solutions for their clients. I look forward to joining the team and collaborating with an innovative company dedicated to advancing effective risk controls and strategic development.
Economou has a B.S. in business administration from Stonehill College and an MBA in finance/investments from Babson College. He is also a CFA Charterholder.
Christopher Gohlke