CHICAGO - Milwaukee-based Robert W. Baird & Co. has hired Chicago-based public finance banker J. "Tod" Miles to increase its coverage of local and state business in Illinois, a move that ends Miles' 10-year professional partnership with Bill Morris, who will remain at Kirkpatrick Pettis.
"We're excited to have Tod joining Baird," Keith Kolb, managing director of public finance at Baird, said in a statement. "His extensive public finance experience and legal background make him an excellent addition to our group."
Miles, who has focused on smaller, lower-rated financings in recent years, described Baird's sales, trading, and market penetration as a "better fit for my client base." Miles had been under pressure to bring in larger deals. Baird ranks in the top 10, both in the Midwest and nationally, on smaller deals last year, according to Thomson.
Miles resigned from his position of the past five years effective July 1 and immediately started at Baird as a director. Miles joined Baird's small team of bankers, which is led by Thomas Gavin and includes Stephan Roberts and two quantitative specialists, Robert Lewis and Delana Sass.
Miles' investment banking career began about 10 years ago after he left the public finance practice at the law firm of Hinshaw & Culbertson to join Dougherty, Dawkins, Strand & Bigelow. Bigelow spun off to become Bigelow & Co. in 1997. Morris, who had worked with Miles at Dougherty, soon joined his friend at Bigelow. In 2000, Bigelow sold its public finance assets to Omaha-based Kirkpatrick with both Miles and Morris continuing to work for the firm.
Miles previously served as an assistant to former Illinois Gov. James Thompson on economic development and served two years as a commissioner for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago.
On the surface, Miles, who is black and describes himself as a conservative Republican, and Morris, who is white and a former Democratic state senator who leans more to the left, were an unlikely pair -- a fact the two often joked about.
Despite their political differences, the two became close friends and their divergent political ties helped them attract a range of clients in their financial advisory business. "While this is a good opportunity for me, the hardest part is leaving Bill," Miles said.
"This is a good opportunity for Tod to do some things he's wanted to do, but it's hard, like a friendly divorce. I miss my pal," Morris said. (c) 2005 The Bond Buyer and SourceMedia, Inc. All rights reserved. http://www.bondbuyer.com http://www.sourcemedia.com
