DALLAS - Long-time Florida banker Kevin Conitz has joined Stephens Inc.'s office in St. Petersburg as a senior vice president concentrating on underwriting opportunities in the state.
Conitz joined William R. Hough & Co. in 1986 immediately after receiving his MBA from the University of Florida, and had been with the firm and RBC Capital Markets, which acquired the Hough firm in 2004, since then.
"RBC is a great company, but after 22 years at the same desk I wanted some new challenges," Conitz said. "For the first 18 years of my career I worked with a regional firm, and I'm looking forward to an association with such a well-respected, well-positioned private firm."
Mark McBryde, executive vice president and director of public finance for the Little Rock-based investment bank, said the addition of a third professional to the St. Petersburg operations "makes a statement regarding the firm's dedication to our business during these troubled times."
Conitz will join Scott Johnson and J. Beattyin the St. Petersburg office on April 4.
"We're expanding our presence in the state of Florida by bringing Kevin on board," McBryde said. "We see a number of financial firms curtailing their presence in certain markets and laying off staff, but we view public finance as the core of this firm, just like it has been since Stephens was founded in 1933."
"We're slowly expanding our presence in the South and Southwest," he added. "As we see opportunities, we're going to add top-notch professionals."
Conitz said Stephens will add to its Florida client base the old-fashioned way.
"We're going to go out, knock on doors, and meet people," he said.
The recent market turmoil means a new day in public finance, according to Conitz.
"The old status quo is not there any more," he said. "This business is more upset than I've seen it in my 22 years, and probably for a lot longer than that. It's a whole new ballgame."
Conitz said all indications point to a slackening of the feverish level of growth in Florida.
"Florida is still going to grow, but it is not going to grow as fast," Conitz said. "Maybe Florida needed to slow down a little. We were at the epicenter of the housing boom, and school districts were struggling to deal with 3,000 to 5,000 new students a year."
"Local governments are faced with level or even declining revenues, while the need for infrastructure will still be there," he added. "It is going to be challenging."
