DALLAS - Longtime Texas investment banker Vince Matrone has stepped away from retirement from Goldman, Sachs & Co. after just two years to open a new Dallas office for First Albany Capital Inc.
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"Jodie Jiles, who heads up public finance at First Albany's Houston office, called me and asked me to investigate the viability of a north Texas office for the firm," Matrone said yesterday.
"During that investigation, it became apparent that I really wanted to get back into the business. I had the energy and the desire to get back into the public finance market. So we began talking and here I am. I think that this will be a great opportunity."
The new office, located near Dallas' Galleria at 15950 North Dallas Parkway Tollway Plaza II, Suite 400, opened Dec. 1, and marks First Albany's first foray into north Texas. The firm's Houston location is a full-service office, offering corporate, investment, and public finance services.
Matrone, whose public finance career spans about 40 years, retired from Goldman in 2002. He started his career at Citibank in New York before joining the firm now known as RBC Dain Rauscher Inc. and moving to Texas.
"In 1998, I joined Goldman Sachs to help them in their efforts to start an office in Dallas," he said. "Then in 2002, I retired -- and now I'm back in the business."
Matrone said he expects his business to focus on state and large transportation issues, as well as the north Texas region's fast-growing mid-tier cities.
"We'll just be doing underwriting from this office," he said. "I don't expect that we'll contemplate doing financial advisory work."
He said that the north Texas area around Dallas and Fort Worth is growing very quickly, and new infrastructure will be required to meet the needs of the booming population.
"If you look at all the trends and reports from the federal and state government, as well as the [North Central Texas] Council of Governments, the population here is going to double between now and 2025," said Matrone. "This is creating an enormous need for infrastructure, for mobility projects and bricks and mortar projects."
In addition to Matrone, who joined the firm as a senior vice president, First Albany has also brought Mark Kim on board as an investment banker. Kim, who formerly held the position of vice president at Southwest Securities, will also be a vice president at First Albany.
"I will focus on the technical aspects of deals, closing execution, underwriting, and new business development -- basically all aspects of the business," Kim said.
Kim started his public finance career about eight years ago at First Southwest Co., and worked at Dallas-based Aspen Advisors before joining Southwest Securities.
"The strength of First Albany Capital is what drew me here," Kim said. "I wanted to work for a firm with their capabilities, and I wanted to have the opportunity to work with Vincent Matrone -- that was a really big factor in my decision."
Matrone said that he expects the Dallas office to eventually add two more bankers to its ranks.
"Right now, it's the two of us here in Dallas," he said. "I expect that over time, we'll have four people in this office."
