OBITUARY: Gene R. Saffold

Gene R. Saffold, one of the first African Americans to lead the public finance banking group at a Wall Street bank, died Monday following complications from recent surgery to correct problems with a heart valve. He was 57.

Mr. Saffold’s first job was as a paperboy delivering the Chicago Bulletin and he went on to spend 30 years in public finance taking turns as a banker, adviser, mentor and manager in Chicago before making the leap to the issuer side to serve as Chicago’s chief financial officer.

A memorial is set for Thursday at 9:00 a.m. Central Daylight Time at Rockefeller Memorial Chapel. The chapel is on the University of Chicago campus in the Hyde Park neighborhood that Mr. Saffold had long called home. He is survived by his three adult children, Jessica, Christine and Nathan; a sister, Andre Kerr, and former wife Dr. Carol Saffold.

Respect for Mr. Saffold’s professional acumen and integrity runs as deep among Chicago market participants as his devotion to the Chicago Bulls, Chicago White Sox and Chicago Bears — in that order — according to Gary Hall, an executive director at JPMorgan, who called Mr. Saffold a friend and mentor.

“Gene was just a great banker” technically and politically, Hall said. “He was really adept at helping his clients. He really understood the public policy” questions issuers contend with in financing decisions. “He was a man of great intellect and warmth who was a mentor and confidante to many in our business,” said longtime friend Adela Cepeda, owner of Chicago-based financial firm A.C. Advisory Inc. “He understood the complexities of public finance and cared deeply about cities and proved it by taking the assignment as the CFO of Chicago.”

On Oct. 1, Mr. Saffold began a three-year term as a public member on the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board. “Gene forged a distinguished career in public finance,” said MSRB chairman Jay Goldstone. “We are saddened by the loss of a friend and professional committed to the municipal market. We extend our deepest sympathies to his family.”

Mr. Saffold spent much of his professional career, beginning in 1985, at Citi when its investment banking arm was known as Salomon Smith Barney. He left from 1991 to 1994 to launch the financial advisory firm LS Financial Group. When the company folded, he returned to Salomon, where he was a managing director.

“We recruited him back,” said R. Ray Kljajic, a managing director at Citi. “He was a trusted partner, a friendly competitor and a wonderful client.”

In 2002, Mr. Saffold left to become the national head of public finance at the former Banc One Capital Markets Inc., where he worked to rebuild that firm’s reputation and public finance team. In 2004, JPMorgan merged with Bank One and Mr. Saffold was named a co-head of public finance, a position he held until 2008 when he moved over to the national accounts group, working on national pension fund and public-sector client accounts.

Chicago Mayor Richard Daley asked Mr. Saffold to serve as his CFO in March 2009 at a time when the city’s revenue picture was growing gloomier by the month. “You can’t say no to the mayor,” Mr. Saffold said at the time.

“Gene Saffold was a wonderful human being who had a distinguished career in finance and, as Chicago’s former CFO, was an invaluable resource. He was always innovative and forthright in his decisions. He was a great advisor to me but more than that, a marvelous ally and friend who will be deeply missed,” Daley said in a statement.

Daley did not seek re-election last year and Mr. Saffold handed the reins of city finances over to Lois Scott — new Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s choice for the job. Saffold most recently had launched a business working as an independent financial, strategic and operational consultant.

Daley tapped Mr. Saffold to join the Chicago Board of Education in 1995 after the state handed control of the school system back to the city. He served several terms until 2005 during which the system saw its investment-grade ratings restored and launched what grew to a $5 billion capital program rebuilding dilapidated schools.

Mr. Saffold recruited Hall in 2003 from the corporate finance department at Bank One and then proceeded to ship Hall — whose political ties in Chicago ran deep as a former city employee and grandson of an alderman — to unfamiliar terrain out West where he had no connections. “He wanted me to really learn the business and be respected for my technical acumen, not just my personal relationships,” Hall said, calling it the best professional move in his career.

From business to sports and cuisine, Mr. Saffold was a loyalist. “He was a true Chicago guy,” Hall said, recalling how Mr. Saffold made him drive 22 miles on a business trip out West just to find a place that sold Chicago-style deep-dish pizza. He was also a Bulls season ticket-holder, a status that enhanced his popularity, especially during playoffs.

Mr. Saffold was born and grew up on Chicago’s South Side. His mother died when he was young. His father worked as a regional manager for Anheuser-Busch. He attended Carleton College in Minnesota and received a graduate degree from the University of Chicago.

His financial sector start came as it did for many in Chicago, winning a spot in First Chicago Bank’s Young Scholars program. Mr. Saffold’s friendship with Cepeda began when he later interviewed her for the young scholars program. “Gene encouraged me and taught me the nuances of the business and helped me every step of the way,” Cepeda said.

Mayor Emanuel also praised Saffold in a statement Tuesday, recognizing him for his philanthropy and civic work on the school board and with the Chicago Youth Centers. “Gene always understood that no matter our success as private citizens, everything we do is ultimately measured by what we do to advance the public good,”he said. “Those who were lucky enough to call Gene a friend will never forget his character and integrity, his gentle bearing and quick wit.”

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