Ballard brings over 30 years of equities sales experience to KNG, having held positions at Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Baring Securities.
He formerly worked at VTB Capital as a managing director and global head of equity sales.
Ballard will concentrate on “special situations” as head of equity sales, assisting KNG’s clients in dealing with shares where liquidity may have been temporarily reduced.
In addition, Ballard’s equities experience, particularly with European and Asian institutional clients, will be key to the firm’s success.
The appointment follows as KNG continues to execute on its plan for growth.
KNG Securities is skilled in trading special situation and illiquid fixed income securities, offering its institutional client’s tradable prices within the most difficult market areas.
Furthermore, it can help international investors obtain liquidity in the most challenging-to-trade assets because of its specialised knowledge in EM and distressed debt.
Due to Ballard’s hiring, it is now entering the equities market.
8 new hires in the distressed debt and emerging markets include:
- Fernando Ortega – former VTB capital global head of fixed income sales, appointed as KNG Securities’ new head of emerging market sales
- Andrew Lee – former Goldman Sachs asset management executive director, appointed as KNG Securities’ new high-yield and distressed credit analyst
- Igor Nartov – former VTB Capital CIS specialist, appointed as emerging market debt senior adviser
- Cagri Kutman – Former Morgan Stanley vice president within cross asset Sales, appointed as senior fixed income sales within its credit trading team
- Christian Laloe – former BTG Pactual Brazilian debt expert, appointed as head of debt capital and special situations in Latin America
- Halila Mazin – Former Barclays capital credit sales specialist, appointed to fixed income sales within KNG’s credit trading team
Andrea Podesta, managing partner, says: “Gary will spearhead our expansion into equities. His experience and track record speak for themselves – there is nobody better-suited to leading this area of our business.”
Ballard adds: “I am delighted to join a firm with such strong commitment to long-term growth. I’m keen for KNG to start to build the same reputation in equities as it already enjoys in fixed income.”
