NEWSMAKER-New Macquarie CEO Moore to wade through market chaos

By Denny Thomas

SYDNEY, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Smart, tough and above all a dealmaker, Macquarie Group's (MQG.AX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) new chief executive, Nicholas Moore, draws the type of plaudits that fit the head of a global investment bank.

Due in May to replace the urbane Allan Moss, who has led Australia's top listed investment bank for 15 years, Moore built his reputation by driving the growth of Macquarie's now famous infrastructure asset management business.

Macquarie bought assets such as toll roads and airports, selling them into managed funds and charging fees at every stage. Wall Street giants have since rushed to copy the model,

The business has helped Macquarie grow its net profit 30-fold during Moss's tenure to a forecast A$1.8 billion ($1.6 billion) this year, with Moore's investment banking division now accounting for more than half of earnings.

The bank, known locally as the 'millionaire's factory' for its big bonuses, has not been hit as hard by the global credit crisis as many of its big peers. But with bearish outlooks for stock markets, Moore will have his hands full this year.

"He has been CEO in waiting for a number of years. He was the logical successor," said Rob Patterson, managing director of fund manager Argo Investments, a Macquarie shareholder.

The 49-year-old Moore's aggressive reputation has raised some questions over whether he will exercise the same restraint as Moss over the bank's dealmakers.

"He is pretty cold and calculating. They have gone from having a statesman to a deal-doer. For the group as a whole it is negative," a banker at an advisory firm said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media.