NEW YORK, March 19, 2008 --Greenhill & Co., Inc. (NYSE: GHL), a leading independent investment bank, today announced the appointment of Richard J. Lieb as the Firm’s new Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Lieb, 48, joined Greenhill in 2005 as a Managing Director, having spent 20 years at Goldman Sachs where he headed the real estate investment banking group. John D. Liu, who previously served as Chief Financial Officer, has resigned to take a position with a client of the Firm.
“Richard brings a wealth of financial and management experience to the CFO role and, as was the case with his predecessor, will also continue his important client advisory role,” Scott L. Bok and Simon A. Borrows, Co-Chief Executive Officers, commented.
”In the four years since our IPO, only four of our 24 pre-IPO Managing Directors have left the Firm. During that time, primarily through recruiting senior bankers with new industry sector or geographic-based expertise, we have increased our count of Managing Directors and Senior Advisors to 43, including two new recruits announced in 2008. While we regret John’s departure, we are pleased he is joining a client of the Firm, and we wish him the best in his future endeavors,” Robert F. Greenhill, Chairman, commented.
Greenhill Promotes Three Managing Directors to New Roles
Separately, Harold J. Rodriguez, Jr., 52, who will continue to head Greenhill’s finance, regulatory and administrative functions, has been named Chief Administrative Officer of the Firm in recognition of his broad responsibilities. “Hal has done a first class job managing all our internal functions, and has done so in a way that has given us the lowest non-compensation cost ratio among our competitors,” Messrs. Bok and Borrows commented.
Greenhill also announced that Ulrika Ekman, 45, previously General Counsel of the Firm, has been appointed Co-Head of U.S. Mergers & Acquisitions alongside Jeffrey F. Buckalew, who will continue his role as a Co-Head. Ms. Ekman joined Greenhill in 2004, having been a partner at Davis Polk & Wardwell, where she often worked on Greenhill transactions. “Ulrika has become increasingly involved and well respected in M&A transaction execution across the many industry sectors on which the Firm focuses. This client-facing role will make more full use of the transaction structuring, negotiation and tactical skills and judgment she has demonstrated in her four years at Greenhill,” Mr. Bok commented.
Finally, Jodi Ganz, 36, previously Assistant General Counsel of Greenhill, has been named Acting General Counsel. Ms. Ganz joined Greenhill from Davis Polk & Wardwell in early 2007.
“While economic and market conditions are obviously challenging, Greenhill is well positioned for this environment. Our strategy of focusing our independent advisory services on corporations rather than private equity or hedge funds is serving us well. Corporate clients increasingly are turning to independent firms for advice, in light of both perceived conflicts and the turmoil generally at the large securities firms. We are finding good opportunities to recruit Managing Directors who extend our geographic reach and/or our industry sector expertise. Additionally, Greenhill’s three active merchant banking funds, as well as the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) we recently funded in a $400 million initial public offering, are anticipating attractive investment opportunities given reduced valuations as a consequence of challenging financial market conditions,” Messrs. Bok and Borrows commented.
About Greenhill
Greenhill & Co., Inc. is a leading independent investment bank that provides financial advice on significant mergers, acquisitions and restructurings and manages merchant banking funds. It acts for clients located throughout the world from its offices in New York, London, Frankfurt, Toronto, Dallas and San Francisco.