Milwaukee-based Baird has hired Bryan Derdenger to lead its new municipal underwriting desk in Chicago.
Chicago is the firm’s second largest market outside Milwaukee. “Primarily focusing on negotiated sales, he will support the firm’s public finance business as it continues to expand and diversify its sector expertise and national presence,” the firm said in a statement.
Derdenger joined the firm as a managing director. He comes from Hutchinson, Shockey Erley & Co. where he was a managing director and senior negotiated underwriter and head of fixed income analytics. He joined the firm in 2002 after graduating from George Washington University with a bachelor degree. He later earned a master of business administration from the University of Chicago.
Since 2011, Derdenger served as underwriter on more than $62 billion of securities across most municipal sectors in states across the country with a primary focus being in Texas, Wisconsin, Michigan and Illinois.
Baird’s municipal team now includes eight underwriters working on five desks that report to Baird’s head of municipal sales, trading, and underwriting Drew Kanyer, who is based in Milwaukee.
“The depth of experience he has in municipal underwriting and trading and assisting public finance bankers will be invaluable, and will complement our existing platform of senior leaders and up and coming young professionals as we continue to expand to better serve our clients and investors,” Kanyer said in a statement.
Baird officials said the firm continues to eye additions on the banking and sales, trading and underwriting groups after this year adding a municipal underwriting desk in Florida and senior level public finance bankers in Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The firm last year hired former Wells Fargo banker Larry Richardson to lead Midwest public finance operations from Chicago.
Earlier this year, the firm officially expanded its public finance footprint with the acquisition of the 164-year-old Louisville, Kentucky-based Hilliard Lyons.
The firm ranked eighth among lead underwriters for the first half of the year. Baird’s municipal platform includes more than 150 professionals which includes 20 underwriters and traders, 40 salespersons and nearly 100 public finance professionals. Baird is an employee-owned, international wealth management, asset management, investment banking/capital markets, and private equity firm with offices.
