NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cowen Inc. (NASDAQ:COWN) (“Cowen” or the “Company”) today announced the following additions and changes to its leadership team:
Larry Wieseneck is joining the organization as Co-President of Cowen and Company and Dan Charney, Head of Equities, has been named Co-President of Cowen and Company. Mssrs. Wieseneck and Charney report to Jeffrey M. Solomon, CEO of Cowen and Company and President of Cowen Inc. In their roles as Co-Presidents, Cowen’s investment banking, capital markets and credit divisions will report to Mr. Wieseneck and the equities, prime brokerage and securities lending divisions will report to Mr. Charney.
Cowen Inc. also announced the establishment of a Management Committee which will be responsible for the execution of the Company’s long-term strategy. The Management Committee, reporting to Peter A. Cohen, CEO of Cowen Inc., and Mr. Solomon, includes executives from across the organization:
- Dan Charney, Co-President, Cowen and Company
- Robert Fagin, Director of Research, Cowen and Company
- Fred Fraenkel, Head, Cowen Investment Management
- John Holmes, Chief Operating Officer, Cowen Inc.
- Stephen Lasota, Chief Financial Officer, Cowen Inc.
- Owen Littman, General Counsel, Cowen Inc.
- Tom Strauss, Chairman, Cowen Investment Management
- Larry Wieseneck, Co-President, Cowen and Company
Mr. Cohen said, “Today’s announcement reflects Cowen’s focus on ensuring organizational alignment with our long-term strategic objectives and near term goals and responsibilities. Since 2009 we have significantly transformed the organization and grown our workforce to over 1100 employees. With expanded business lines and greater product breadth, Cowen strives to be the leading organization delivering outperformance in investment management, investment banking, sales and trading and research. By adding to our leadership team and with the discipline and commitment of the Management Committee, we further our ability to build upon our sound foundation.”
Mr. Solomon said, “We are excited that Larry and Dan have been appointed Co-Presidents. Larry is a seasoned and well-regarded manager with proven strategy and execution experience in our industry. His broad product and market experience will provide excellent perspective as the organization moves into our next phase of growth. Dan is an excellent leader who has done a tremendous job growing our equities franchise over the last five and half years. During his tenure, the business has become one of the fastest growing equity sales and trading platforms in the industry. I look forward to partnering closely with Larry and Dan in their new roles, as we aim to have an immediate and long-term positive impact on the organization and our shareholders.”
Biographies:
Larry Wieseneck
Mr. Wieseneck is Co-President of Cowen and Company. He was previously COO and Head of Merchant Banking at Roundtable Investment Partners. From 1997-2014, Mr. Wieseneck was with Barclays and its predecessor, Lehman Brothers. During his 17 year tenure, he served in a variety of senior roles including Co-Head of Securities, where he was responsible for global sales, structuring and senior relationship management businesses across all asset classes and regions, and Chief Strategy Officer (Corporate and Investment Banking) where he was responsible for the global oversight and execution of the division’s strategy. For many years, Mr. Wieseneck held the role of Head of Global Finance and Risk Solutions where he was responsible globally for the leveraged finance, debt capital markets, loan capital markets, equity capital markets and corporate risk management groups. Mr. Wieseneck has a BS from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from New York University Stern School of Business.
Dan Charney
Mr. Charney is Co-President of Cowen and Company. Previously, Mr. Charney served as Cowen’s Head of Equities which included the cash equities, special situations, options, convertibles, electronic and program trading, prime services, clearing, securities finance and commission management businesses. Prior to joining Cowen, he was with Jefferies where he served as Managing Director and Head of Global Electronic Trading Services as well as Head of US Sales trading. Before joining Jefferies, Mr. Charney was a Managing Director and Head of West Coast Equity Distribution at UBS Securities and he held various other positions in the financial services sector earlier in his career. He has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Haas School of Business at University of California Berkeley.
About Cowen Inc.
Cowen Inc. is a diversified financial services firm and, together with its consolidated subsidiaries, provides alternative asset management, investment banking, research, sales and trading, prime brokerage, global clearing and commission management through its two business segments: Cowen Investment Management and its affiliates make up the Company’s alternative investment segment, while Cowen and Company, a member of FINRA and SIPC, and its affiliates make up the Company’s broker-dealer segment. Cowen Investment Management provides alternative asset management solutions to a global client base and manages a significant portion of Cowen’s proprietary capital. Cowen and Company and its affiliates offer industry focused investment banking for growth-oriented companies, domain knowledge-driven research, a sales and trading platform for institutional investors and a comprehensive suite of prime brokerage services. Founded in 1918, the firm is headquartered in New York and has offices worldwide. For additional information, visit www.cowen.com.
