NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - Dec 22, 2014) - Mizuho Securities USA ("MSUSA"), the U.S. investment banking subsidiary of the global Mizuho Financial Group (NYSE: MFG), today announced the appointment of Sheryl Skolnick, Ph.D., as Managing Director and Director of Research. Ms. Skolnick will focus on the further expansion of MSUSA's equity research by building out and extending sector coverage. She will report to Matthew DeSalvo, Head of MSUSA's Equity Division. 

Ms. Skolnick has more than thirty-five years of financial service experience, most recently as Co-Head of Research & Head of Research Administration at CRT Capital Group, where she oversaw and revamped the Equity Research business. Prior to that, Ms. Skolnick served as Managing Director at Pali Capital. She is an adjunct Professor at Columbia University and a former five-time Wall Street Journal All Star Analyst.

John Koudounis, MSUSA's President & CEO, stated, "This new hire shows the commitment MSUSA has placed on growing and developing our Equities business. Her depth of industry knowledge will be a great asset to our firm and is a further sign of our dedication to building a team of seasoned professionals dedicated to providing clients with superior investment ideas and analysis."

Matthew DeSalvo, MSUSA's Head of Equities, stated, "Research is at the heart of the Equity business and adding such an experienced and highly-regarded analyst as Sheryl to lead our research effort will prove to be an important part of MSUSA's Equities growth. Sheryl's expertise will provide value across the Equities franchise and complements the continued expansion of our U.S. institutional sales and trading product offerings in cash equities, convertibles and ETFs."

This is the second significant hire in two weeks for MSUSA. Ms. Skolnick's hire comes on the heels of the new head of ECM, Derek Dillon.

About Mizuho Securities USA
 Mizuho Securities USA Inc. is a U.S. registered broker-dealer headquartered in New York City, with offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Hoboken (NJ), Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and London (UK). MSUSA provides a wide range of fixed income and equity securities products and investment banking services to institutional clients. MSUSA is one of only 22 firms designated as a Primary Dealer in U.S. Government and Agency securities. MSUSA also is a U.S. registered futures commission merchant ("FCM") and a member of most international futures exchanges. MSUSA's parent company, Mizuho Securities Co., Ltd., is a top-tier, full-service, Japanese securities firm and a core member of the Mizuho Financial Group. http://www.mizuhosecurities.com 

Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: MFG), based in Japan, is one of the largest financial institutions in the world, offering a broad range of financial services including banking, securities, trust and asset management, credit card, private banking services, and venture capital through its group companies. The group has approximately 56,000 staff working in more than 920 offices in over 32 countries and total assets of over $1.71 trillion as of September 30, 2014. Its core global corporate banking entity, Mizuho Bank, Ltd., has offices throughout Japan, the U.S., the Americas, and the world, providing financial and strategic solutions to major corporations, financial institutions and public sector entities. For more information, please visit http://www.mizuho-fg.co.jp/english/