Title: Director
Firm: Bank of America
Age: 39
Timing, as they say, is everything.
Investment banking was on Matthew Jiang's radar after graduating from Cornell University. But it was 2008, right in the middle of the financial crisis. After completing an internship in sales and trading at Merrill Lynch, Matt was set to join the firm's municipal derivative team — just as the industry was moving away from derivatives. Instead, Merrill offered him a position as an analyst in public finance supporting the transportation team.
That seemingly bad timing has shaped his 18-year career.
Just two years into the job, Matt worked on a challenging bond issuance for O'Hare International Airport that included 10 separate bond issues. Another memorable deal was serving as co-lead of the $1.97 billion new money financing for Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, a deal recognized with The Bond Buyer's 2025 Southwest Region Deal of Year award.
Matt spends much of his time advising aviation clients. He finds the transactional nature of the work exciting. "You can never rest on your laurels," he says. "You have to continue to push yourself to be an industry leader."
For Matt, being an industry leader includes mentoring and empowering the next generation. He's known to roll up his sleeves to ensure his colleagues have the support they need to succeed and strives to be a trusted resource for the Bank of America team.
While Matt describes his college self as someone who would prefer to bury his head in spreadsheets, he's proud of pushing out of his comfort zone to develop his communication and interpersonal abilities to become lead banker on client coverages.
Matt, an avid endurance cyclist, channels that same energy he brings to Bank of America to rise early before work to log miles for his riding trips in the Alps and Dolomites.
