Mesirow Financial has hired Paul Sitarz as managing director of municipal funding in its Institutional Sales and Trading department, helping fill the gap left when Eric Vandercar died in a train wreck in February.
Sitarz joined the municipal desk in the firm's New York office in March, focusing on Tender Option Bond transactions and other municipal investor funding products. Sitarz will be working with Matt Sherwood, and both will be filling the role that Vandercar held before the Metro-North train crash that also killed five others.
"Paul was a good friend of and worked with Eric before and was someone who Eric highly recommended, so it was a simple decision to have Paul and Matt carry the torch that Eric started," said Dominick Mondi, president of institutional sales and trading and a member of the board of directors for Mesirow Financial.
With more than 35 years of experience in the industry, Sitarz will be instrumental in continuing best-in-class client service for Mesirow's municipal funding and TOB business, Mondi said.
"It has been a difficult set of circumstances," said Sitarz. "Eric and I worked together for over 20 years and have been friends for nearly 30 years. I am not only humbled to join Mesirow, but am excited to team again with Matt Sherwood to carry forward the work that he and Eric started."
Prior to Mesirow, Sitarz worked as Brownstone Investment Group LLC and UBS Investment Bank as a managing director. He also spent 24 years at Morgan Stanley as an executive director in the municipal derivatives group.
"Eric joined us and was someone that was the all-star of muni derivatives and fabulous friend and tremendous husband and worker," said Mondi. "His loss is devastating to Mesirow and his family and friends, but we didn't want his work to get dismantled. It was very important to us that we continue our efforts in the area that Eric began."
