Italy's IntesaBci has hired Idriss Nouar, research assistant at French insurance company Sorema in New York, as a weather derivatives trader to jump-start its plans to become a market maker (DW, 7/15). Nouar, who joined the firm last week in New York, is the first of three hires the bank plans to make within the next several weeks. Nouar reports to Richard Turrin, director of structured products in New York. "Idriss has a combination of great knowledge ...and technical degrees in engineering to build us a proprietary system that will give us an edge...and ensure we're not trading with a black box approach," Turrin said. He declined to provide further details on the bank's plans. Nouar referred questions to Turrin.
At Sorema, Nouar reported to Nicholas Papadopoulo, chief underwriting officer. Papadopoulo could not be reached for comment. A spokeswoman for Sorema said the business would be closing in a week and had no comment on Nouar's departure.
