Andre Ayala

Andre Ayala, director Hilltop Securities

Title: Director
Firm: Hilltop Securities
Age: 36

At age 36, Andre Ayala has covered a lot of ground, in life and in public finance.

Born in Juarez, Mexico, Andre moved to the United States in 2003, becoming a full citizen in 2005. He attended the University of Texas – El Paso, before transferring to UT-Austin where he earned a B.A. in economics and a B.B.A. in finance, with a minor in French. His passion for travel led to a semester in Paris, followed by a year-long internship in Madrid with one of Spain’s largest investment banks. It was during this internship that Andre was first exposed to the world of infrastructure finance and became instantly fascinated with the business. This drove his decision to focus his career on public finance, ultimately leading him to Hilltop Securities in 2007.

“I see a bright future for the industry and for firms like Hilltop,” Andre told The Bond Buyer. “In this complex world, issuers need to surround themselves with the best of the best to achieve their strategic and financing goals. My team and my firm are equipped with the tools and mindset to assist our clients in their strategic and financing goals.”

While attending UT, Andre began volunteering his time with Teach for America, working with non-English speaking immigrant children to help them excel and expand their education. He continues this volunteer work today providing mentorship and education to young people. His unique life experience serves as a bright example and encourages them to pursue their dreams. As a native of El Paso’s sister city and a UTEP alumnus, Andre felt the city’s grief when a gunman murdered 22 people at a Walmart recently.

“I immediately contacted my parents and other family and friends that live out there to make sure they were all safe, luckily no one close to me got hurt,” he said. “Terrorist acts like this have no room in our civilized society, there is no reason we have to live in a country where we need to worry about getting shot anywhere we happen to be just because we fit certain category — whatever that may be.”

Andre travels extensively throughout the United States and the world, visiting countries and locations many would consider to be “off the beaten path” in order to experience other cultures and ways of life. He enjoys attending music and cultural festivals across the world and is also an accomplished high-level competitive soccer player. Andre is currently engaged to his fiancee, Luz, and has a 20-month-old son, Emilio Alexander.

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