This year, FN is putting together a new list of Rising Stars of European Finance, spanning the breadth of financial and professional services.

To mark the opening of nominations, FN takes a look back at some of its former rising stars, and what's happened since they first featured.

Allegra Berman

Global head of institutional sales, markets and securities services, HSBC

2008: Co-head, European corporate coverage debt capital markets, UBS

Berman was already more than a decade into her banking career when FN named her as a rising star, having worked at Credit Suisse and Barclays before UBS. She joined HSBC’s vast securities services business in 2013 and continued to rack up bigger roles, taking on her current role in 2020. She is also a general manager at the bank — a senior title just below the group executive committee.

Cathal Deasy

Co-head of investment banking, Barclays

2013: Head of natural resources M&A, Emea, Deutsche Bank

Since appearing on the list in 2013, Deasy has continued to climb the ranks in investment banking. After leaving Deutsche Bank, he became global co-head of M&A and Emea co‑head of investment banking at Credit Suisse. Most recently, he became Barclays’ co-head of investment banking early last year, following Credit Suisse’s takeover by UBS.

Steven Desmyter

President, Man Group

2014: Managing director, Man Group

Desmyter joined Man Group as part of its acquisition of GLG Partners in 2010. Since then, he has held several senior roles, including head of Emea sales and global head of sales and marketing, before becoming group president in June 2023. FN recognised him in 2014 for his role in selling Man Group’s products to institutional investors in the Nordic and Benelux regions.

Patrick Healy

CEO, Hellman & Friedman

2006: Founder, London office, Hellman & Friedman

Healy joined private equity firm Hellman & Friedman in 1994 and opened its London office a decade later. He became deputy chief in 2009, before rising to CEO in 2018. He has overseen several mega deals at Hellman & Friedman, including its acquisition with Permira of software company Zendesk in 2022 for $10.2bn. FN recognised him as a rising star in 2006.

David Howson

Global president, Cboe Global Markets

2014: Chief operating officer, Bats Chi-X Europe

FN named Howson as a rising star in 2014 when he was chief operating officer of Bats Chi-X Europe. Cboe acquired its parent company, Bats Global Markets, in 2017 and Howson became chief operating officer of Cboe Europe following the deal. He then continued to climb the ranks of the Chicago-headquartered exchange, going on to head the business in Europe and Asia. He moved to the US in 2022 to become global president of Cboe Global Markets.

Johanna Kyrklund

Group chief investment officer and co-head of investments, Schroders

2006: Fund manager, Insight Investment

FN recognised Kyrklund as a rising star in 2006, when she was a global macro fund manager at Insight Investment, which she had joined from Deutsche Bank two years earlier. She moved to Schroders in 2007 to become head of UK multi-asset, ascending to global head of multi-asset and then to chief investment officer in 2019. Changes to Schroders’ management structure led to her also being named co-head of investments in 2022.

Baroness Helena Morrissey

Now: Chair, Altum Group

2005: Chief executive, Newton Investment Management

Morrissey was one of FN’s very first rising stars, having appeared in 2005 in its initial list. But she had already been making waves before that, having become chief executive of Newton in 2001 when she was just 35. She later worked at Legal & General Investment Management and AJ Bell. She is now best-known as a diversity campaigner: the chair of the Diversity Project, she also set up the 30% Club, which works to get more women on company boards.

Viswas Raghavan

Global head of investment banking and Emea CEO, JPMorgan
2005: Head of European equity capital markets, JPMorgan

Another of our very first rising stars, Raghavan featured in our 2005 list when he was head of European ECM at JPMorgan. He joined the bank in 2000 as head of equity-linked capital markets and has remained there ever since. He has racked up several senior roles in that time, including Emea head in 2017 and global co-head of investment banking in 2020.

Chris Rokos

Founder and chief investment officer,
Rokos Capital Management

2005: Founding partner, Brevan Howard

Joining Morrissey and Raghavan in our first year of the list was Rokos, who had founded one of London’s biggest hedge funds, Brevan Howard, in 2002. He stayed with the firm until 2012, going on to found the eponymous Rokos Capital Management in 2015. The hedge fund has since grown from $3.5bn to more than $15bn in assets under management, netting him a £2bn fortune, according to The Sunday Times Rich List 2023.

Neel Sachdev

Global co-chair of finance and capital markets and co-head of the London office, Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison

2015: Partner, Kirkland & Ellis

Seasoned debt finance lawyer Sachdev had been at Kirkland & Ellis for a decade before FN named him as a rising star in 2015. He had made his name there on some high-profile private equity deals, including advising Advent International and Bain Capital on their $3.1bn purchase alongside ATP Private Equity Partners of Nets Holding in 2014. Sachdev made a high-profile move from Kirkland to Paul Weiss last summer.

Simon Smith

Global co-head of investment banking, Morgan Stanley

2006: Deputy head of investment banking, Emea, Morgan Stanley

Smith had just received a promotion to deputy head of investment banking for Emea at Morgan Stanley when he appeared in 2006 on FN’s second Rising Stars of Investment Banking. He now has 25 years’ experience at the US bank under his belt, where he has been global co-head of investment banking since 2022.

Yen Sum

Global co-chair, private capital practice, Latham & Watkins

2014: Partner, Linklaters

Sum joined our 2014 list of rising stars, four years after making partner at Linklater. In the decade since, she has continued to make her mark in finance law. She joined the London office of Latham & Watkins in 2018 and was promoted to lead a major new practice for the US firm in 2022, working with private capital clients across all asset classes.

Want to nominate the next Rising Star? Just click here

To contact the author of this story with feedback or news, email Clare Dickinson