The 20 Rising Stars of Fixed Income 2008

tors of the Southern Municipal Finance Society and is a member of the National Federation of Municipal Analysts and Women in Housing and Finance. 20. EDWARD WILLEMS Global Co-Head of Rates Calyon Corporate and Investment Bank, London Age: 38 Education: Southampton University (M.S. in Engineering); École Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications (Engineering Degree) Mentors: Dominique Blanchard, Former Deputy Head of Capital Markets, Calyon Corporate and Investment Bank; Pierre Chabardes, Manager of the Structuring Team, Natixis; Guy Laffineur, Head of Fixed Income Markets, Calyon Corporate and Investment Bank Willems has spent his entire career at the same firm – originally Crédit Lyonnais and now Calyon Corporate and Investment Bank – but has worked around the world and built up several business units. He joined Crédit Lyonnais in Paris in 1993 as a quantitative analyst, moved to Hong Kong in 1998 to take the helm and restructure the Asia (ex-Japan) derivatives business in the midst of the Asian crisis, relocated to Tokyo in 1999 to head up derivative sales and credit derivatives and was called to London after the merger with Crédit Agricole in 2004 to head up worldwide structured sales. Willems was named to his current position as global co-head of rates in 2005, alongside Paris-based Benjamin Mellul, and shares responsibility for Calyon’s interest rate derivatives business, hybrid products and government bonds. Over the past two and a half years, he and Mellul have grown the interest rate derivatives trading business by 120% to surpass €1 billion. “I’m proud of that,” he said, adding that he also is proud of having diversified the business. Furthermore,Willems feels a sense of fulfillment over successfully motivating colleagues from an array of different backgrounds. The two co-heads run their department in a constructive way that runs contrary to the typical dogeat-dog environment within a lot of Calyon’s competitors. “The right people perform if they’re in an environment that is constructive rather than aggressive,” he maintained. Looking forward, Willems foresees continued innovation in the fixedincome arena, particularly in the derivatives business. He cautioned, however, that there is always a risk of people getting carried away. “The credit crunch is not about instruments, but people getting carried away,” he added. The main difference of the most recent crisis, as compared to crises in the past, is the global repercussions as a result of the sheer size and international nature of the business, he noted. As for himself, Willems has had several opportunities to build businesses during his career and expects to continue doing so going forward. “The last four positions I’ve had have been business-building and that’s what I enjoy - developing something but also being responsible for something,” he said. Taking that into consideration, Willems expects his personal drive to lead him to ‘run the show’ at Calyon or start a company on his own, mostly likely outside the realm of financial services. That being said, he noted that he enjoys his current job and isn’t ready for such a ‘big leap’ yet. i FIXED INCOME RISING STARS 25 20. EDWARD WILLEMS MAY 2008

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