MINNEAPOLIS, Oct 12, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) --

Piper Jaffray announced today the appointments of Scott LaRue and Chad Abraham to global co-heads of the Piper Jaffray investment banking and capital markets group. Both are managing directors. LaRue will be based in New York and Abraham will be based in Minneapolis.

" Scott and Chad bring extensive experience and strong and complementary skill sets to their new roles," said Tom Schnettler, president and chief operating officer. "Scott has had a successful M&A career and worked on both growth bank and bulge bracket platforms. He has most recently been located in our Hong Kong office and brings firsthand experience working in the Asia markets. Most recently at Piper Jaffray, Chad led our global capital market team from our Minneapolis headquarters. Prior to that, he successfully led our technology investment banking group from our office in Menlo Park, CA. I am highly confident that together they will provide strong leadership to execute our strategic plan for the group."

LaRue joined Piper Jaffray in 2003 and has extensive experience in M&A, public and private equity finance, and leverage finance. Prior to this new appointment, LaRue was global co-head of the consumer and industrials investment banking group. Prior to joining Piper Jaffray, he was a managing director at Credit Suisse and Bank of America Securities. LaRue holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Southern California.

Abraham joined Piper Jaffray in 1991, and has extensive experience in public and private financing, as well as M&A and other strategic transactions. Prior to leading the capital markets team, Abraham spent his career at Piper Jaffray building a leading technology underwriting and M&A advisory practice. In 1996, he opened the Piper Jaffray office in Menlo Park, California, and was instrumental in establishing a significant technology presence in Silicon Valley. Abraham holds a bachelor's degree from Northwestern University.

About Piper Jaffray

Piper Jaffray Companies (NYSE: PJC) is a leading, international investment bank and institutional securities firm, serving the needs of corporations, private equity groups, public entities, nonprofit clients and institutional investors. Founded in 1895, Piper Jaffray provides a broad set of products and services, including equity and debt capital markets products; public finance services; financial advisory services; equity and fixed-income institutional brokerage; equity research and fixed income analytics; and asset management services. Piper Jaffray headquarters are located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with offices across the U.S. and in London and Hong Kong. Piper Jaffray & Co. is the firm's principal operating subsidiary. (www.piperjaffray.com)

Since 1895. Member SIPC and FINRA.

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SOURCE: Piper Jaffray Companies

Piper Jaffray
Investor and Media Relations
Jennifer A. Olson-Goude, 612-303-6277