DirectBooks announces management team additions and the launch of its Industry Advisory Committee

On schedule for a Q4 2020 launch

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Jun 10, 2020, 08:00 ET

NEW YORK, June 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- DirectBooks™, the capital markets consortium that will optimize global financing markets, announced the appointments of Yvonne Wang as Chief Operating Officer, and Christopher Rodriguez as Global Head of Platform Engagement. DirectBooks also announced the launch of the Industry Advisory Committee (IAC).

Yvonne has 20 years of experience in new product development and innovation, with expertise in finance, technology, and business transformation. After beginning her career as an engineer at HP, Yvonne Wang held senior leadership positions at Pfizer, Bank of America and Credit Suisse, in both investment banking and private banking. She has also co-founded and incubated Fintech start-ups with leading banks and technology firms, using cutting-edge products and platforms to solve complex industry problems. Yvonne graduated from Cornell University with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering.

"I am excited to have joined DirectBooks at this pivotal time, as we continue to build the DirectBooks team and execute our platform delivery plan," said Yvonne Wang.

Christopher Rodriguez is a 25-year financial services and technology industry veteran who will be leading the DirectBooks engagement team focused on growing the user community of banks and investors. Prior to joining DirectBooks, he was the Head of Sales and Account Management in the Americas and Global Head of Workflow for Symphony Communications. Chris was previously a partner at Eris Exchange, holding executive positions including Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Sales. He also held executive positions with CME Group, NYMEX, and account management roles at Mizuho and ABN AMRO. Chris earned an MBA from Columbia Business School and M.A. and B.A. degrees from Rutgers University.

"I am thrilled to have joined the DirectBooks team, and I look forward to building on our global community of committed users," said Chris Rodriguez.

Rich Kerschner, CEO of DirectBooks, said, "I am pleased to welcome these two accomplished executives from the Fintech sector to the team, as we build our platform and deliver on our mission to optimize the global financing markets. We also continue to add fantastic new hires throughout all levels of our organization. As a result, despite a very challenging global environment, we continue to make great progress in building both our company and our product and remain on track for our Q4 2020 launch."

Addressing inefficiencies in the marketplace across multiple communication channels, DirectBooks will simplify the primary issuance process through the use of structured data and streamlined communications. The new service will increase the workflow efficiency and accuracy of deal information among market participants by disseminating it through a robust communications platform that can be integrated into underwriter and investor systems. DirectBooks will scale globally for primary markets offerings.

DirectBooks also announced the launch of its Industry Advisory Committee, which held its first meeting in Q1 2020. The purpose of the IAC is to ensure steady feedback from our user community, as we build our platform and grow our service offering globally.

The IAC is currently co-chaired by BlackRock and J.P. Morgan. It consists of a rotating membership from its bank and investor user community and may be expanded over time. In addition to the co-chairs, the initial membership consists of representatives from Bank of America, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Citi, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo, with investor representatives from AllianceBernstein, Amundi, AXA Investment Managers, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Loomis Sayles, Lord, Abbett & Co. LLC., and Wellington Management.

About DirectBooks LLC
DirectBooks leverages its technology expertise and the market knowledge of its user community to streamline the primary issuance process and optimize the global financing markets. For additional information on DirectBooks, please visit www.DirectBooks.com or contact [email protected]

SOURCE DirectBooks