Macquarie announces hiring of new head of financial sponsor group and senior hire in consumer retail

• Tom Amster joins as Senior Managing Director and Head of US Financial Sponsors for Macquarie Capital
• Hershel Gerson joins as Managing Director, deepening capabilities in Consumer and Retail
• Senior Los Angeles-based appointments further expand Macquarie’s West Coast presence

Macquarie Capital, the corporate advisory, capital markets and principal investing arm of Macquarie Group ("Macquarie") (ASX: MQG; ADR: MQBKY), today announced two senior appointments in its Los Angeles office.

Tom Amster joins as a Senior Managing Director and will head Macquarie Capital’s US Financial Sponsor efforts. Mr. Amster brings 20 years of investment banking experience, having previously served as Morgan Stanley’s Head of San Francisco Investment Banking and West Coast Financial Sponsors. Prior to Morgan Stanley, he was a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs for 11 years, heading up West Coast Financial Sponsor coverage. While at Goldman, he also served in the Mergers & Acquisitions and Energy & Power groups. Mr. Amster has extensive experience across multiple industry verticals and has led the execution of transactions across the full spectrum of mergers & acquisitions, equity, debt and derivative transactions. 

"Tom brings a wealth of expertise and relationships across the sponsor community; his advice and counsel is well-respected by both clients and colleagues. Tom’s leadership, deal experience and long-term industry relationships will be instrumental in directing our growing financial sponsor efforts and providing clients with first-in-class coverage," said Michael Silverton, Head of Macquarie Capital for the US and Latin America.

Hershel Gerson also joins as a Managing Director in Macquarie Capital’s Consumer, Gaming and Leisure franchise, with a core focus on the Consumer and Retail sectors. Mr. Gerson brings over 15 years of investment banking and advisory expertise, having spent nine years at Credit Suisse, leading the West Coast Retail and Consumer practice and covering West Coast financial sponsors. Most recently, he was a Managing Director and West Coast Team Leader at BNP Paribas.

"Tom and Hershel together bring deep insight and experience to Macquarie, along with long-standing client relationships. The hiring of these two highly experienced and well connected bankers will drive meaningful growth for the firm and extend the reach of our West Coast activities," said David Berman, Head of Consumer, Gaming and Leisure at Macquarie Capital, and Head of the firm’s Los Angeles office.

Since establishing a San Francisco office two decades ago, Macquarie Capital continues to grow its West Coast presence. Today, all industry groups engage clients around the region across a full suite of corporate advisory and capital markets services, including equity, debt and private capital markets businesses, and actively invests alongside clients through principal investing capabilities.

These appointments also follow the addition of several recent senior hires in Macquarie Capital’s US business, including: Sam Shah and Raghu Velamati in Technology, Media & Telecom; Jeremy Parker in Aerospace, Defense and Government Services; Prabhu Raman and John Wieker in Real Estate Guillermo Sierra in Midstream Energy; Alex Krolick in Energy & Infrastructure Financing; Paul Allen in Debt Capital Markets; and Marc Berman in Financial Institutions Group.