(Bloomberg) -- Two UBS Group AG investment bankers focused on the retail sector resigned from the Swiss bank, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Dean Pimenta, a managing director and head of retail for the Americas, and Neeraj Chugh, an executive director within the same team, left to join Piper Sandler Cos., the people said, asking not to be identified discussing information that isn’t public. Both worked for UBS in New York.

A UBS spokesperson declined to comment. A Piper Sandler representative didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Pimenta joined UBS in 2019 after 18 years at Citigroup Inc., according to his LinkedIn profile. Chugh joined UBS in 2015 after stints at JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Robert W. Baird & Co.  

Piper Sandler, led by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Chad Abraham, has been actively hiring. The firm ended the second quarter with 145 managing directors in investment banking and capital markets after adding five MDs. 

(Updates with UBS declining to comment in third paragraph.)

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