NationsBanc Montgomery Securities Inc., the investment banking subsidiary of BankAmerica Corp., is expected to announce three appointments to the Montgomery division's executive committee today.
The additions-Craig R. Johnson, director of equity sales; Scott Kovalik, director of equity trading; and Thomas A. Thornhill 3d, director of equity research - would boost the committee to 10, its largest membership ever.
The three men have a combined 34-year tenure with Montgomery, the San Francisco investment bank that NationsBank Corp. bought for $1.2 billion in 1997, before its merger with BankAmerica Corp.
The appointments would come at a time of uncertainty for Montgomery, as dozens of its long-term employees are leaving to join its founder, Thomas Weisel, in a new merchant banking venture. Mr. Weisel struck out on his own after a disagreement over control of Montgomery that broke out during the merger of NationsBank with the old BankAmerica.
Montgomery officials say 40 of its 400 senior executives have left since bonuses were paid in December - and not all have joined Mr. Weisel.
For example, two technology investment bankers, Rex Sherry and Brian Rutberg ,joined the San Francisco office of Warburg Dillon Read last week.
Mr. Weisel's new firm, Thomas Weisel Partners LLC, is expected to be up and running next month, with about $65 million in capital.
High-profile defectors to Mr. Weisel's group include Frank Dunleavy, Montgomery's head of investment banking; J. Sanford Miller, head of technology investment banking; and David Readerman, a well-regarded Internet and technology analyst.
Montgomery's executive committee presents a very different face to the world than it did just a few months ago. With the new additions, about half would be recent appointments and about a third would be based in New York.
Though Mr. Johnson, Mr. Kovalik, and Mr. Thornhill are all Montgomery veterans, they have only been in their current jobs since November, when Montgomery reorganized its equities group. All three are based in San Francisco and report to Kent Logan, Montgomery's director of equities.
Other Montgomery executives on the committee include Lewis Coleman, who succeeded Mr. Weisel as chairman and chief executive of the division; and Carter McClelland, co-director of corporate finance and a Wall Street veteran.
Separately, Montgomery said Wednesday that it had hired a senior equity portfolio strategist, Tom McManus, who has worked at Morgan Stanley, Natwest Markets, and other Wall Street firms.
