The bankruptcy of Wall Street bank Lehman Brothers and its ensuing sale in the US to Barclays Capital and in Europe to Nomura has triggered a wave of departures, as some of its brightest stars decided against joining their new parents or were lured away by opportunistic rivals. Research by Financial News shows that more than 40 have departed so far.

Makram Azar, global head of sovereign wealth funds and chairman of media investment banking for Europe and the Middle East at Lehman, has joined private equity firm Makram Azar as managing director and head of Middle East and the North Africa region.