New York – Mizuho has named Christopher Nam as Managing Director and Head of Internet and Digital Media Investment Banking for its North American banking business. Nam will join Mizuho’s expanding San Francisco based technology investment banking practice with a mandate to build out the firm’s equity, M&A and strategic capital raising advisory capabilities with clients in the Internet and Digital Media sectors. He will report to Richard Gallivan, Managing Director and Head of Technology Media & Telecom (TMT) Investment Banking.
Nam will focus on delivering Mizuho’s full spectrum of advisory solutions to companies in the Internet and Digital Media space and leverage opportunities arising from the disruption occurring in these rapidly developing sectors.
“As we’ve increased market share and moved further up the value chain with clients, enhancing our strategic advisory capabilities to drive idea generation and event focused financing opportunities is the clear next step in the development of our US investment banking franchise,” said John Humphreys, Managing Director and Head of Mizuho’s North American Investment Banking practice. “With experience advising Internet companies through all stages of the business lifecycle from early round financing to private placements, IPOs and M&A, Chris is a critical addition to our growing technology banking platform as we continue moving forward to help clients achieve their goals.”
With more than fifteen years of investment banking experience and over $60 billion of aggregate transaction volume, Nam joins Mizuho from Credit Suisse, where he advised companies including Alibaba, Lyft, Zalando, King Digital, Box, MINDBODY and Rocket Fuel as Director of Internet Investment Banking. Prior to Credit Suisse, Nam held positions at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Wasserstein Perella, and was the co-founder and CFO of Touchco, a technology startup acquired by Amazon in 2010. Nam holds a Bachelor's degree from Princeton University and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
In addition to Nam, Mizuho has made a number of recent additions to its growing West Coast technology banking platform, including Richard Gallivan as Managing Director, Avrum Spiegel as Managing Director and Head of Technology Banking, Alok Gupta as Managing Director and Head of Electronics and Hardware Investment Banking, and Brian Carr as Managing Director, Financial Sponsor Coverage.
Mizuho also boasts a strong technology research platform, with a team of dedicated sector analysts in Internet & Interactive Entertainment, Hardware, Software and Semiconductors.
About Mizuho Americas
Mizuho Americas comprises several legal entities, which together offer clients corporate and investment banking, financing, securities, treasury services, asset management, research and more. With professionals in offices throughout the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Chile, Mizuho’s operations in the Americas connect a broad client base of major corporations, financial institutions and public sector groups to local markets and a vast global network.
The Mizuho Americas group of companies is an integral part of the Japan-based Mizuho Financial Group, Inc.(NYSE: MFG). Mizuho Financial Group is one of the largest financial institutions in the world, offering comprehensive financial and strategic services including private banking and venture capital through its subsidiaries. The Group has over 56,000 employees in 920 offices in nearly 40 countries throughout the Americas,EMEA, and Asia. At the end of March 2016, its total assets were $1.8 trillion.