As Robert E. Diamond Jr. builds his new firm â€" his latest venture since leaving Barclays as chief executive â€" he has hired some experienced help to serve by his side.
Atlas Merchant Capital, the firm that Mr. Diamond founded last year, said late on Monday that it had hired David Schamis from J. C. Flowers & Company as a founding partner. Mr. Schamis will handle his new employer’s private equity investment arm.
Mr. Schamis, who joined J. C. Flowers in May of 2000, said in a statement that the chance to work with Mr. Diamond was “too compelling to pass up.â€
“Bob is one of the world’s most accomplished bankers and his track record in building and selling Barclays Global Investors and in buying Lehman during the financial crisis â€" two of Barclays’ most successful transactions ever â€" is legendary,†he said.
Mr. Schamis is no slouch either, having previously worked at Salomon Brothers and having served on the boards of firms like Ascensus Retirement Services and the investment bank Fox-Pitt Kelton.
But the news release leaves out that his most notable recent board seat was at MF Global, the futures brokerage firm that collapsed nearly three years ago. It was Mr. Schamis who came up with the idea of bringing in Jon S. Corzine, the former Goldman Sachs chief executive, as chief executive at MF Global, according to Fortune magazine.
