Jefferies Adds Senior Clean Technology Research Analyst

Jefferies announced today the addition of Jesse Pichel as a Managing Director and Senior Equity Research Analyst covering Clean Technology companies. Mr. Pichel has more than ten years of experience as an equity research analyst and is joined by Senior Vice President Elaine Kwei and Equity Research Associates Min Xu and Constance Wang.

The addition of these professionals extends Jefferies’ established global coverage of the Clean Technology sector, which includes more than 50 companies across the solar, smart grid, LED, geothermal, energy storage, fuel cell, biofuels and biomaterials, transportation, water and wind industries.

"The addition of Jesse Pichel and his team demonstrates Jefferies’ commitment to remaining a leading investment bank and securities firm for the dynamic and evolving Clean Technology sector, and the continued strengthening of the firm’s equity research effort,” commented Steven R. Black, Global Head of Equity Research at Jefferies. "Jesse’s broad experience, industry expertise, and strong institutional following will extend Jefferies’ depth of sector coverage and add immediate value as part of our comprehensive offering to institutional investors globally.”

"I am excited to join Jefferies and look forward to bringing my experience and expertise to the firm’s leading Clean Technology practice,” said Mr. Pichel.

Jefferies’ research analysts consistently rank among the top industry professionals and recently captured four awards in The Wall Street Journal "Best on the Street” 2010 Analyst Survey for US equity research, 12 awards in the Financial Times / StarMine annual awards survey for US and European equity research analysts, and 11 awards in the Forbes.com / Zacks Investment Research Best Brokerage Analysts Survey. Jefferies and its affiliates have more than 180 equity and leveraged finance research professionals in the US and Europe covering over 1,300 companies in the areas of aerospace & defense, clean technology, consumer, energy, financial services, gaming, leisure & lodging, healthcare, industrials, maritime, media & entertainment, real estate, technology, telecommunications and utilities.

Mr. Pichel joins Jefferies from Piper Jaffray, where he spent seven years, most recently as a Managing Director for Clean Technology equity research. Previously, he covered technology growth companies at Needham & Company and C.E. Unterberg Towbin. He received an MBA from Fordham University and a BS from Cornell University. Over the years Mr. Pichel has been recognized with numerous stock picking and earnings accuracy awards including those given by Forbes, FT/StarMine, and The Wall Street Journal. In 2009, he was also named runner-up for the Institutional Investor annual All-America Research Team Award for alternative energy.

Ms. Kwei has covered the Clean Technology sector for the past four years, most recently as a research analyst at Piper Jaffray and previously as a research associate at Signal Hill Capital. She received an MPA from Princeton University, a BA in Economics from U.C. Berkeley, and is a CFA charterholder.

Mr. Xu has covered Clean Technology and Telecommunication Services at Piper Jaffray and Sandford Group respectively. Previously, he worked in product marketing and development at Cisco Systems. Mr. Xu received an MBA from Duke University, a MS in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University, a MS in Physics from Colorado State University, and a BS in Physics from Beijing University.

Ms. Wang joins Jefferies from Piper Jaffray, where she covered Clean Technology companies. Previously she worked in equity research and investment banking covering Technology, Media & Telecommunications at J.P. Morgan. Ms. Wang received an MBA from Stern School of Business at NYU and a BA in Computer Science from New York University.

Jefferies, a major global securities and investment banking firm, has served companies and their investors for more than 48 years. Jefferies & Company, Inc. is the principal operating subsidiary of Jefferies Group, Inc. (NYSE: JEF: jefferies.com).