William Blair & Co. has widened its footprint in the West by hiring three public finance veteran investment bankers in its San Francisco office.
The Chicago-based investment bank and asset management firm has enlisted Cheryl Hines as managing director, Ken Gillespie as director, and Jeff Pickett as senior vice president.
“We see the western United States as a growth opportunity for our infrastructure investment banking business, and believe that by adding this echelon of talented bankers, we show our commitment to providing the highest level of client service,” said Tom Lanctot, partner and head of debt capital markets.
William Blair’s municipal underwriting practice already has a strong presence in Connecticut and the Midwest, and seeks to grow its business in California.
Hines joins the firm from Raymond James | Morgan Keegan’s San Francisco office, where she was a managing director and western region manager in public finance. Before that, she worked for Merrill Lynch & Co., Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley.
Pickett also joins the firm from Raymond James in San Francisco, where he was a vice president in public finance. Before that, he worked at Jefferies & Company, B of A Merrill, and RBC Capital Markets.
Gillespie comes from Bank of America Merrill Lynch and brings a background in investment banking, retail distribution, and trading.
“We’ve gotten established in the marketplace and in a lot of underwriting pools already and this team of senior bankers is really going to take us to the next level,” Lanctot said.
The firm has also recently added to its competitive underwriting, sales, and trading capabilities in New York with four new additions to the municipal bond team last year.
“The firm is strongly committed to growing its fixed income business and, in particular, our municipal bond, public finance, and infrastructure investment banking business,” Lanctot said. “So we’re looking at hiring bankers all around the country.”
William Blair has offices in 10 cities, including London, New York, and Shanghai.
