DALLAS — Jodie Jiles, who is retiring from RBC Capital Markets as managing director this month, discussed his 26-year career in the municipal bond industry via cell phone as he drove home from a friend’s funeral Friday.
“He was one of my best friends, and he was 61, the same age as I am,” Jiles said of Michael Pipkins, with whom he once worked at Hughes Tool Co. after high school and whose funeral was Friday. “As I was driving, I was thanking God for my health.”
Jiles, who has served on a number of high-level boards and state commissions in addition to working as a financial advisor, had his own health crisis several years ago when he was fitted with a pacemaker and later experienced Bell’s Palsy, a nervous disorder from which he says he’s completely recovered.
Jiles joined RBC from First Albany Capital Inc. in 2006, bringing with him a wealth of contacts in the Houston area and in state and federal government. He was at First Albany for three years as senior vice president. His retirement at RBC becomes official June 30.
“Jodie is a Texas original: talented, hard working, community-minded and a real leader,” said Chris Hamel, RBC’s head of U.S. municipal finance. “RBC is grateful for his years of service and wishes him a healthy and happy retirement.”
After earning a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Texas Southern University and a master’s degree in professional accounting from the University of Texas, Jiles started his career in the oil business but moved to public finance during the oil bust in Houston. His first post in the field was with the now-defunct United Daniels Securities, a New York-based minority-owned public finance firm that bought a seat on the New York Stock Exchange in the 1970s and wanted to gain a foothold in Texas.
“It was the first African-American firm to open in the state of Texas,” Jiles said. “We’ve seen people come and go in the industry. We’ve seen a lot of firms disappear, but the people are the consistent factor.”
After Daniels, Jiles joined up with state Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, and Richard Ramirez to form Apex Securities Inc., which was the first investment bank in the nation with combined black and Hispanic leadership. Jiles stayed with Apex for more than two years before joining First Boston.
Jiles was with First Boston for five years before moving to Masterson & Co., where he worked for just over a year. That firm merged with First Southwest Co. At that time, Jiles had an offer from Bear, Stearns & Co., which he opted to take. He worked there for about seven years before joining First Albany in 2003.
Jiles also served on the board of directors of the Houston branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, and chaired the Greater Houston Partnership, a 2,000-member organization that works on economic development and other issues for the metropolitan area.
Jiles was appointed by Texas Gov. Rick Perry to serve on the Interim Commission on Higher Education. He also previously served on the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and was a chairman of the Municipal Advisory Council of Texas in 2000-2001.
Through it all, Jiles said he continued to focus on clients and access to the bond market.
“The business — my God, have we seen changes!” he said. “I’ve seen a lot of stuff happen over my 26 years but at the end of the day, we still provide for the needs of our clients.”
