DALLAS - Dallas-based Rauscher Pierce Refsnes Inc. named an attorney with public finance experience yesterday as its new president and chief executive officer.
The announcement that William A. Johnstone would take the helm of the regional brokerage and investment bank followed last week's restructuring of its fixed-income group, which included eight layoffs.
Saying it was premature to discuss Rauscher's direction, Johnstone professed his commitment to public finance. That commitment was echoed by Irving Weiser, chairman and chief executive officer of Rauscher's parent company, Inter-Regional Financial Group. Weiser has been the firm's acting chief executive since the departure of David Smith in September.
"I am familiar with the restructuring, and I think it was the appropriate thing to do to size the department to the market," Johnstone said. He declined to say more, professing a wish to first establish a relationship with his employees and learn more about the firm.
A friend of Weiser's for more than 20 years, Johnstone, who takes the helm June 24, said his respect for Rauscher led him to accept the position.
"The securities business fascinates me, and I wanted to become more directly involved in it from a management position," he said.
Johnstone's hiring caps an eight-month search that Weiser termed "exhaustive."
"We looked for a strong leader, someone with strong intellect and strategic skills, skills that are quickly and readily transferable," Weiser said. "Johnstone exhibited these qualities more than anyone."
An attorney with the Minneapolis-based Dorsey and Whitney law firm, Johnstone, 52, led the firm's finance and commercial group, which includes corporate finance, public finance, and banking law. In the past, he represented a number of securities firms, including Inter-Regional.
Michael Lipper, president of Lipper Analytical Services, said Johnstone was an untraditional choice.
"It's not unheard of," said Lipper. "But it raised the question as to why the need and it could be that the internal candidates were too well matched, it could be they want to bring a different style of management in, at least during this phase, and the legal background is something that could work well for them."
Lipper said only time will tell if Johnstone's hiring was the right move.
"I don't think we understand what they are attempting to do with this, but clearly IFG is going through growing pains and as it evolves it will probably change again," he said.
As chief executive officer of Rauscher, Johnstone is expected to expand the corporate finance, equity capital markets, and private client brokerage areas, and maintain the revamped fixed-income group.
Last week, the firm laid off three taxable institutional salesmen, two taxable traders, a municipal trader, a financial analyst, and a sales assistant. William Piper, the former head of municipal trading, resigned two weeks ago. In addition, Rauscher promoted Bob Vanosky, executive vice president, to head of the fixed-income group, and named Leslie O. Lynch, executive vice president, as head of public finance.
"The restructures occurred under my direction," Weiser said. "We made strong changes, but we have strong executives in Bob Vanosky and Les Lynch."
Johnstone will oversee a management team that consists of Robert Brown, executive vice president of the equity capital markets group, Dan Wilhite, executive vice president of the private client group, and Vanosky.
