Baird, the US investment bank, has appointed Satoshi Matsumoto as a managing director and director of Japan mergers and acquisitions, based in Chicago. He will co-ordinate the M&A activity between Japanese businesses and companies in the US, Europe and Asia, and will be responsible for accessing potential Japanese buyers for the firm's sellside processes. Matsumoto was previously managing director and head of Japan consumer and retail investment banking at Barclays Capital in Tokyo.