By David French and John Tilak
NEW YORK/TORONTO, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) C.N has hired Greg Saksida from TD Securities to head energy investment banking in Canada, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters on Sunday.
Saksida will be based in the bank's Calgary, Alberta, office starting in mid-January. He will report to Steve Trauber and Michael Jamieson, co-heads of global energy at Citi, as well as John Hastings, chief executive of Citibank Canada.
A representative for TD Bank TD.TO did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A Citi representative declined to comment.
M&A activity in the Canadian energy sector is expected to pick up again this year, having produced modest volumes in recent years versus other sectors of the economy. Small and midsize companies are struggling with the effects of lower oil prices and reacting to that pressure by seeking combinations. was most recently head of U.S. energy investment banking at TD Securities. At Citi, he will be tasked with helping the bank increase its energy market share in Canada and supporting the bank's efforts in the global energy space.
Kasey Fukada, the previous leader of the Canadian energy group at Citi, is leaving the bank to "pursue other opportunities," the memo added, without providing further details.
Fukada's departure comes after more than eight years at Citi, according to his LinkedIn (NYSE:LNKD) page. Fukada could not be reached for comment.
The memo also said that Ken Davis recently joined Citi as a director of investment banking in Calgary from Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) GS.N , where he had previously focused on the upstream oil and gas sector.
A spokeswoman for Goldman Sachs declined to comment.