Woodrow joins ABN AMRO

There has been a reorganization at ABN-AMRO with Asian equity derivatives boss, Frank McKirgan heading to London as the new global head of cash equity trading and sales trading.
McKirgan has hired John Woodrow from CLSA to be the new head of Asia-Pacific cash equity trading. Woodrow started yesterday. Prior to CLSA he spent 10 years with Deutsche Bank in Australia as head of derivatives trading.

ABN is attempting to better integrate equity traders and sales traders, with derivatives trading and hedge fund sales. The idea is to allow sales traders to have a better dialogue with dealers at fund management firms. By sitting next to derivatives and hedge fund sales, they can give these dealers better context on the overall market and what impact hedge funds and futures and options are having on market directions.

It also helps to integrate equity risk taking, on the cash and the derivatives side.

Though now based in the UK, McKirgan remains very much in touch with the Asian trading afternoon, commuting at 5am from Chichester by train each day and spending the next hour and a half either on a mobile phone to Asia, or on email.