Baird, the investment bank, has hired Paul Smiddy as an analyst for its European equity research team in London.

Smiddy previously worked for Credit Lyonnais Securities. He has also worked for Wood Mackenzie, Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein and Nomura. He has 20 years of experience of the retail sector, and will cover retail and consumer stocks at Baird. He is a qualified accountant.