The 2015 All-Europe Research Team: Media, No. 3: Filippo Lo Franco, Mark O’Donnell & team

Filippo Lo Franco, Mark O’Donnell & team

J.P. Morgan Cazenove

First-place appearances: 6

Total appearances: 13

Team debut: 1988

After running the table for five straight years, J.P. Morgan Cazenove’s four-strong crew slides to third place. The group is also experiencing a change at the top:Filippo Lo Francois moving over to head up the firm’s media banking for Europe, the Middle East and Africa and handing oversight of this team to newcomerMark O’Donnell. Before signing on with J.P. Morgan in London in September 2005, the new crew chief worked in business development and strategy at Australian cable and satellite television operator Foxtel. O’Donnell began his career in corporate finance and investment banking at UBS and J.P. Morgan in Sydney. He earned bachelor’s degrees in law and commerce from the University of Western Australia. He and his London-based colleagues report on 40 European media players and are upbeat on the group. “We are currently positive on the sector and believe it can outperform in 2015, with further recovery in European advertising markets and strong balance sheets allowing higher potential cash returns,” says O’Donnell. “We see the pace and shape of ad market recovery as the driver for more cyclical media companies. For more defensive stocks we expect the market to focus on the balance between M&A and cash returns — and for many, whether recent new strategies brings expected benefits.” Against this backdrop, the researchers’ preferred names are Anglo-Dutch publishing powerhouse Reed Elsevier and British multinational advertising and public relations company WPP.