Janney Capital Markets named Christopher White as the new head of its investment banking division.

The Philadelphia-based brokerage firm, a unit of mutual insurance provider Penn Mutual Life Insurance Co., hired White from Cowen Group Inc. to replace Andrew Smucker. A managing director since 2009, Smucker is staying on board at Janney.

White told Mergers & Acquisitions that he was brought in to focus in particular on building the firm's "middle market M&A and sponsor coverage.

At Cowen, meanwhile, a spokeswoman said that John Holmes will take over for White at the New York-based investment bank.

White originally joined Cowen in 1999, soon after Societe Generale acquired the firm to form SG Cowen Securities Corp. Throughout his tenure, White held a number of different positions before moving on to chief operating officer, where he oversaw the spunout of Cowen into a public company in 2006.

The spinout, he says, "was something I spent a lot of my time on." As senior manager, he also oversaw the sale of Cowen to Ramius LLC for $194.5 million in November 2009, and became chief of staff post close.

As part of the firm’s merchant banking operations, White oversaw technology, biotechnology, retail investments and the equity capital markets group, where he was responsible for covering the consumer sector.

Prior to Cowen, White served in leadership roles at Salomon Smith Barney.

White earned his undergraduate degree from Amherst College and earned a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School.

At Janney, White reports to Jordie Maine, head of Capital Markets. In a prepared statement, Maine noted that the hiring will allow the firm to "grow our public market business and, at the same time, leverage our existing platform.”

Career moves