One of the most influential women in business breezed through Atlanta on Thursday, in the company of a new partner.
Savannah-born, Georgia Tech grad Suzanne Shank this week became the majority owner of Siebert Brandford Shank & Co. LLC, a Wall Street underwriting firm that has more than $2 trillion in infrastructure financing in its 19-year background. Shank’s new partner is former HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros.
The African American-owned public finance firm in the country is now the largest female-headed, African-American/Latino-owned public finance firm in the country.
"It’s the only one of its kind,” Cisneros said. We were in the lobby of the Hyatt Regency in downtown Atlanta for a quick chat.
The firm was founded in 1996 by Muriel Siebert, the first woman to own a seat on the New York Stock Exchange. She died recently, and chairman Napoleon Brandford III is retiring. Shank, a founding partner, inherits the titles of chairman and CEO. Siebert’s estate wanted out, which provided Cisneros, the former mayor of San Antonio, his opportunity to buy in.
Shank and Cisneros have their eye on Atlanta and Georgia in a number of areas. The firm was involved in the financing for the recent expansion of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, and the Atlanta sewer system remake under then-Mayor Shirley Franklin.
Asked where the next potential for infrastructure growth is, Shank rattled off a list:
"Certainly, the water and sewer issue was big. Atlanta did a lot. Transportation is always big. Georgia is one of 20 states that passed its own increase in funding. Schools, including higher education."
In the Northeast, infrastructure replacement is largely a matter of crumbling systems that have aged out, Cisneros noted. In the South, it’s about growth – and Atlanta has more than its share. Said Cisneros:
"Now you're dealing with the next iteration of infrastructure, like broadband and higher education. It's very clear that if you're going to have a poster child for where infrastructure is a challenge, Atlanta would be right there."
And then they were off to Atlanta City Hall, to introduce their new partnership to Mayor Kasim Reed.
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