< The 2015 All-Europe Research Team

Total appearances: 16

Team debut: 1986

After an absence of six years, HSBC returns to this lineup in third place, marking its strongest showing since 1997. London-based Stephen Howard oversees the firm’s telecommunications research efforts and with Stephen Scruton co-led this European team to runner-up positions in 2006 through 2008. Howard, 44, joined HSBC in 1996, armed with masters and doctoral degrees in modern history from England’s University of Oxford, and has been covering telecoms ever since. He and his colleagues “remain extremely positive on European telecoms, on the back of a profound change in the regulatory environment, including the approval of consolidation, which we regard as by far the most important driver in the sector,” says Howard. “We think that regulatory improvements will continue to drive market repair.”