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BNP Paribas is pleased to announce the hires of Libby Kitson, Michael Ball, Felix de Gregorio, Alfonso Escarte, Eric Hongisto, Stephen Tatz, Frank Lim and Ong Lee Wan to its Equity Sales Teams in London, Madrid, New York and Singapore.

Libby Kitson, 37, will be a European equity sales-trader, based in London, reporting to Simon Jeffries, Head of BNP Paribas Equity Sales-Trading in London. She joins from ABN Amro, where since 1996 she was a Director and a European sales trader. Previously she worked at Goldman Sachs International from 1985 to 1991 on the US Institutional Sales Desk as a US sales trader.

Also joining in London is Michael Ball, 30, who will work as a European equity generalist salesman reporting to Tim Draper, Global Head of BNP Paribas European Equity Sales. Michael joins from HSBC where he worked as a pan European sales generalist. Prior to that he worked at Schroder Securities as a pan European pharmaceuticals salesperson. Previously Michael was with Warburg Dillon Read where he worked from 1993 to 1999 in UK general sales and then subsequently in pan European pharmaceutical sales.

BNP Paribas' European equity team in Madrid, headed up by Ricardo Mandelbaum, adds three new hires.

Eric Hongisto, 34, joins BNP Paribas as a European equity sales-trader from BSCH where he worked for two years in European and Spanish equity sales and trading. Eric held the same position from 1996 to 1998, when he worked at AB Asesores Bursatiles Bolsa, S.V.B. Prior to that, Eric worked at The Carson Group for two years as an analyst in the American Depository Receipt Group and, from 1993 to 1994, at Morgan Stanley in the bank's fixed income sales and trading operations.

Alfonso Escarte, 35, also joins BNP Paribas as a European equity sales-trader from BSCH, where he worked since 1989 as an international equities sales-trader. Prior to this, Alfonso worked from 1987 to 1989 at D. Jose Antonio Aguirre, where he was a custody officer.

Felix de Gregorio, 26, joins BNP Paribas from Credit Lyonnais Securities, where he worked in institutional equity sales. From 1998 to 1999, Felix worked in the same position at Morgan Stanley. Prior to that he worked for two years at Banco Banif, as a financial analyst and subsequently as a portfolio manager. At BNP Paribas, Felix will sell European equities in Madrid to Spanish investors.

In New York, Stephen Tatz, joins as an international equity sales-trader reporting to George Cook, Head of BNP Paribas Equity Sales in New York. Stephen joins the firm from Arnhold & Bleichroeder, where he was Head of Global Sales Trading since 1997. Prior to this, Stephen worked for ABN Amro in South Africa from 1994 to 1996 as Head of Equity Trading.

Finally, BNP Paribas' Singapore office adds two additions to its equity sales team reporting to Willem Nabbaro, Head of BNP Paribas Equity Sales in Asia.

Ong Lean Wan, 38, will sell European equities in the region after 8 years with Keppel Insurance. His most recent position at Keppel was the chief executive officer of its investment management operations. Previous positions include chief financial officer and manager of Keppel's actuarial and marketing services.

Joining Ong, Frank Lim, 33, joins as an equity salesperson selling to Asian institutional investors. Frank joins BNP Paribas from UOB Asset Management where since 1995 he was a senior portfolio manager in European equities. From 1992 to 1995, Frank worked at ESSO Singapore Limited as a project manager.

Since the summer, BNP Paribas has recruited 20 equity sales and sales-trading professionals globally and plans to make additional hires over the coming months.

Commenting on these appointments, Tim Draper said, "We are delighted to welcome all of these seasoned professionals to BNP Paribas' growing worldwide distribution network. Each has specific expertise to add to our business, which we will continue to strengthen during the course of next year."