Fitch Ratings on Tuesday named Arlene Bohner as head of state and local government ratings for U.S. Public Finance and Scott Zuchorski as the North American head of transportation/public private partnerships in the Global Infrastructure and Project Finance Group.
The moves follow last month's appointments of Laura Porter as head of public finance and Cherian George as global head of infrastructure. Bohner will report to Porter while Zuchorski will report to George.
“Arlene has a strong reputation as a thoughtful and insightful analyst who makes well-reasoned credit decisions on complex credits along with being an exceptional manager and mentor,” Porter said. "We are excited to have her lead our team of experienced analysts covering state and local government credit, and collaborate and coordinate our efforts with other groups within Fitch, including the global infrastructure and project finance group."
Bohner has over 20 years of experience as a municipal bond analyst. She joined Fitch in 2010 and has analyzed credits in the Northeast and Midwest. She most recently managed the Great Lakes and Midwest region for tax-supported state and local government ratings. Prior to working at Fitch, she was a principal at MuniPro and before that was a vice president at Moody’s Investors Service.
“Growth in the [public private partnership] and broader transportation revenue bond markets has increased the need for joint analysis and coordination between the infrastructure and public finance teams. The fact that they are under one umbrella at Fitch positions us well to incorporate the risks appropriately from both the project and grantor perspectives and those that fall in between,” George said. “Scott’s vast experience with the P3 market will be a great asset for Fitch as P3s evolve from state-granted availability payment projects to demand-based transportation projects and now to higher education institutions and the water projects."
Zuchorski also has two decades of experience analyzing the infrastructure markets. Before joining Fitch in 2010, he was a first vice president at Ambac and a management consultant with Arthur Andersen’s government services practice in Washington, D.C. At Fitch, he has been involved with U.S. and Canadian transportation projects, particularly P3 issues.
