Bank of America has expanded its senior technology investment banking ranks by hiring four experienced bankers from rival firms, according to internal memos circulated to employees on Tuesday. The moves are presented inside the firm as part of a push to grow its presence in technology dealmaking.
One memo, sent by Purna Saggurti, vice chair of Bank of America and chair of Global Corporate & Investment Banking, confirmed the appointment of Gary Kirkham, who joins from Centerview Partners as executive vice chair with a focus across the bank's sectors. A separate memo, issued by Faiz Ahmad and Mike Joo, co-heads of Global Investment Banking, announced that Jason Rowe would be hired from Goldman Sachs to serve as global co-head of technology investment banking.
The second memo also named two additions from JPMorgan Chase: Mahir Zaimoglu, who will take on the role of head of TMT Mergers & Acquisitions Investment Banking in London, and Patrik Czornik, who will become co-head of EMEA TMT Investment Banking based in London.
Bank of America confirmed the memos' contents to employees, while representatives of Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Centerview declined to comment, according to the information circulated within the firm.
Jason Rowe, who is based in New York, will co-lead the Global Technology Investment Banking group alongside Matthew Sharnoff, the memos said. The material also noted an upcoming leadership change: Johnny Williams, currently a co-head of the group, is set to be promoted to Chair of Investment Banking in the fall, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Gary Kirkham returns to Bank of America after more than four years at Centerview, where he served as a partner and contributed to building the firm's West Coast technology practice. Before his tenure at Centerview, Kirkham spent over two decades at Bank of America, most recently as global co-head of technology, media and telecommunications investment banking.
Jason Rowe brings more than two decades of experience from Goldman Sachs, where he was most recently one of three co-heads of software investment banking. In that role he worked alongside Joe Porter and Brian Cayne, the memos said.
The series of hires comes after several senior departures from Bank of America's technology team. The bank's former head of global technology, media and telecommunications investment banking, Kevin Brunner, left last year to join JPMorgan as global chairman of investment banking and M&A. Another senior technology banker, Ric Spencer, departed for Citigroup in October.
The internal announcements position the new hires as part of Bank of America's effort to expand market share in technology-related transactions. The memos provide the firm-level account of the changes while noting that rival institutions contacted about the moves chose not to comment.
Contextual note: The information in this article is based on internal memos circulated within Bank of America and a source familiar with the promotions. Other firms named in those memos declined to comment.