BNP Paribas, a leading European bank, today announces the appointment of five senior equity research analysts to its NYC-based team:

Matt Akers is appointed to Senior Analyst, U.S. Aerospace & Defense and Government Services. Matt has been covering the industry since 2012 and joins BNP Paribas from Wells Fargo, where he was Senior Analyst covering the same group. Prior to Wells Fargo, Matt was part of a highly ranked A&D team at Barclays. Matt began his career as an engineer in the defense industry, including work on the F-35, F-22 and Enhanced Night Vision Goggle. Matt holds an MBA from New York University and MS in Electrical Engineering from Rensselaer. He is a CFA Charter-holder.

Nicholas Jones is appointed to Senior Analyst for U.S. Large Cap Internet, and will cover e-commerce, online travel, social media, digital advertising, mobility, property technology, and other internet-based businesses. Nicholas has been covering the internet sector since 2016, and technology stocks more broadly since 2012. He joins BNP Paribas from Citizens Bank where he was a Senior Analyst covering Large Cap Internet stocks. Prior to Citizens, Nicholas was a Senior Analyst at Citi, also covering the internet sector. Nicholas holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University at Buffalo in Mechanical Engineering and a Master’s degree from the University at Buffalo in Finance, focused on Financial Engineering.

Seth Weber is appointed to Senior Analyst for U.S. Business & Industrial Services. Seth has more than 25 years of sell-side equity research experience, most recently serving as a Managing Director at RBC Capital Markets and Wells Fargo Securities, where he covered a wide range of Industrial and Business/Information Service companies. Previously, Seth was a senior equity research analyst at UBS and Bank of America Securities, after starting his career at Merrill Lynch. Seth holds a Bachelor’s degree from Bates College and an MBA from Cornell University.

Steve McManus is appointed to Head of Restaurants Equity Research and will lead U.S. restaurants and convenience store coverage. Steve has been with BNP Paribas for five years, previously covering U.S. Retailing Broadlines & Hardlines. Prior to joining BNP Paribas, he spent two years at Nomura on the Retailing Broadlines & Hardlines team, after having worked at BMO Capital Markets and Sidoti & Co. Steve began his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in accounting. He graduated from Fairfield University with a Master's degree in Accounting and is a CPA.

Xian Siew is appointed to Senior Analyst for U.S. Leisure. Xian has been covering the consumer sector since 2016. He joined BNP Paribas in 2020 as part of the Retail Department Stores & Specialty Softlines team. Prior to joining BNP Paribas, Xian was a member of the Retail Hardlines team at Morgan Stanley. Xian holds a Bachelor’s degree from Swarthmore College and is a CFA Charter-holder.

Matt, Nicholas, Seth, Steve, and Xian all report to Michael Rietbrock, BNP Paribas Director of Equity Research, Americas.

José Placido, Chief Executive Officer of BNP Paribas USA and CIB Americas, said: “These five appointments today help deliver on our global strategy of providing cutting-edge products and services to our clients which further solidifies being our clients’ bank of reference. We warmly congratulate and welcome Matt, Nicholas, Seth, Steve, and Xian, and look forward to their contribution in helping the U.S. BNP Paribas Equity Research team excel in the U.S. cash equities space.”

Adil El Batji, Head of Global Equities in the Americas at BNP Paribas, said: “The BNP Paribas Equity Research US team continues to grow and offers our clients a “one stop” opportunity in every area of the equities space including research, financing, execution, and derivatives areas. We look forward to additional growth in the near future.”

In 2021 BNP Paribas acquired 100 percent of Exane following a successful 17-year partnership and in November 2022, BNP Paribas launched BNP Paribas Equity Research in the US, aligning this offering with the bank’s leading Global Markets platform. Also, in 2024 BNP Paribas further expanded the award-winning NYC-based equity research team when it announced five senior U.S. Analysts.

BNP Paribas has been ranked the number one industry research provider in Europe for nine consecutive years by Extel/Institutional Investor. In addition to best-in-class equities research, clients will continue to benefit from the bank’s top-tier electronic execution and prime brokerage platforms, its state-of-the-art execution platform driven by Cortex Equities, and well-recognized equity derivatives expertise developed over 30 years.

About BNP Paribas

Leader in banking and financial services in Europe, BNP Paribas operates in 64 countries and has nearly 178,000 employees, including more than 144,000 in Europe. The Group has key positions in its three main fields of activity: Commercial, Personal Banking & Services for the Group’s commercial & personal banking and several specialised businesses including BNP Paribas Personal Finance and Arval; Investment & Protection Services for savings, investment and protection solutions; and Corporate & Institutional Banking, focused on corporate and institutional clients. Based on its strong diversified and integrated model, the Group helps all its clients (individuals, community associations, entrepreneurs, SMEs, corporates and institutional clients) to realise their projects through solutions spanning financing, investment, savings and protection insurance. In Europe, BNP Paribas has four domestic markets: Belgium, France, Italy and Luxembourg. The Group is rolling out its integrated commercial & personal banking model across several Mediterranean countries, Türkiye, and Eastern Europe. As a key player in international banking, the Group has leading platforms and business lines in Europe, a strong presence in the Americas as well as a solid and fast-growing business in Asia-Pacific. BNP Paribas has implemented a Corporate Social Responsibility approach in all its activities, enabling it to contribute to the construction of a sustainable future, while ensuring the Group's performance and stability.

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