Fitch's Porter promoted to global public finance and infrastructure role

Fitch Ratings promoted Laura Porter to be its analytical global group head of public finance and infrastructure ratings.

She replaces Dan Champeau, who was appointed to a newly created position with Fitch subsidiary Fitch Solutions as its global head of ratings data and research.

Porter was appointed Fitch’s head of U.S. public finance in March. She will continue to oversee all of U.S. public finance as part of her expanded role.

Porter will report to Fitch's global analytical head, Brett Hemsley.

"Laura brings a wealth of experience to her new global role that will help ensure that Fitch continues to deliver analytical excellence typified by the consistency and transparency in our ratings and analysis," Hemsley said in a statement.

Porter’s career at Fitch began in 2005 as a rating analyst for U.S. states before she become group head of Fitch's U.S. state government ratings team. She also was named head of local government ratings for Fitch in 2015 and oversaw coverage of both groups until earlier this year. Before joining Fitch, Porter was an investment banker at Morgan Stanley in New York.

Champeau's career with Fitch spans more than two decades beginning as a public finance/infrastructure analyst in New York. In 2011 he was promoted to head Fitch’s U.S. public finance and global infrastructure and project finance analytical groups. In his new role, Champeau will lead Fitch Solutions’ credit market business/product line including all research and data produced by Fitch Ratings.

“Having spent more than 20 years of my career focusing on the creation of ratings, I’m thrilled to shift gears and broaden my focus to the entire suite of ratings content across all asset classes, including public finance/infrastructure,” Champeau said in a statement. “I look forward to working with market participants to evolve Fitch’s products and research offerings.”