CHICAGO — Veteran Chicago-based public finance banker Elizabeth Coolidge has resigned from Lehman Brothers to return to Siebert Brandford Shank & Co. — the firm she left nearly a decade ago after helping establish its Chicago office.
The announcement of Coolidge’s hiring yesterday followed the resignation of another veteran Chicago public finance banker, Courtney Shea, after two years with Siebert as its co-head. Shea said she planned to travel internationally in the coming months and declined further comment.
Coolidge, who joins the firm as a managing director and head of the Chicago office, also declined to comment on the reasons behind her move, but several sources close to her said she believed Siebert was a better fit for her strengths and personality. “It’s about where is the best fit and where she can best further her career,” one source said.
While leaving behind the prestige of working with a Wall Street firm, Coolidge also leaves behind the difficulties of competing at such a firm from a regional office and she avoids any fallout in compensation or job security facing Wall Street firms as they grapple with losses associated with subprime investments.
The Siebert Coolidge is returning to is a far different from the one she left in 1999 as it has steadily moved up in the national rankings of senior managers and is the top-ranked minority and women-owned firm. The firm has significantly increased capitalization and since 2005 has offered derivatives after partnering with a counterparty.
Coolidge left on good terms with Siebert executives after nearly four years there and enjoys a mutually respectful and friendly relationship with Siebert president Suzanne Shank. “Beth and I always had a great personal relationship. We have a similar business approach and that’s very important,” Shank said yesterday. “Beth is well-respected, has great personal ethics and has extremely strong client relationships and we believe the right person to help grow our business in Illinois.
Coolidge helped establish Siebert’s Chicago office after Shank and Napoleon Brandford 3d, both of whom had previously worked at the former Grigsby Brandford & Co., joined with Muriel Siebert to form the firm. Shank is based in Michigan and Brandford in California, but the firms call New York City, where Siebert is based, its official headquarters.
Chicago-area issuers are “crucial” to Siebert’s business, Shank said, noting the strong commitment those issuers have to including minority- and women-owned firms on deals especially in a senior managed capacity. Coolidge also will also seek business in Indiana, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin when she starts next month. The firm employs 55 professionals in 12 offices.
Coolidge, 41, joined Siebert from Smith Mitchell Investment Group Inc. She left in 1999 to join the former Banc One Capital Markets Inc. and left there six months later, soon joining Carole Brown, her close friend at Lehman, as a senior vice president. Brown heads up the office and is its only senior, general government banker now. Brown has been busy in recent months as chairwoman of the Chicago Transit Authority board as the agency has sought a transit bailout package from the state.
Shank declined to comment on Shea’s resignation and praised her for her work since she joined the firm in April 2006. Public finance sources said the resignation was by “mutual agreement” and that Shea, after 25 years in investment banking, was considering other opportunities.
Shank said she had been looking to hire another banker since last fall when Shea’s co-head of the Chicago office, Pamela Mobley, left to serve as co-head of Samuel A. Ramirez & Co.’s Chicago office.
Shea previously managed the public finance banking group at the former LaSalle Financial Services Inc. She previously worked at Citi, Kemper Securities Inc., Artemis Capital Group Inc., and then RBC Capital Markets Inc. after it acquired Artemis.
Nationally, Siebert ranked 17th last year among senior managers compared to Lehman at 7th. Siebert ranked 27th in 2005 and 18th in 2006 while Lehman ranked 4th in 2005 and 6th in 2006, according to Thomson Financial.
In Illinois, Lehman ranked 3rd in 2005, 9th in 2006, and 17th last year compared to Siebert which did not rank in 2005, and then ranked 18th in 2006, and 14th in 2007. Lehman’s local numbers were hurt by the delay last year of Chicago’s nearly $1 billion O’Hare International Airport deal, where Lehman was senior manager. Lehman priced the O’Hare deal yesterday. Coolidge also had expected to run the books on an Indianapolis pension deal but that deal was put on hold after a mayoral upset in November.
