state of Connecticut for more than $981 million and for more than $3 billion for the Detroit Water Board, including the largest deal ever for Detroit Water — $1.14 billion — issued in August.
Dwight A.L. Skerritt. Director, U.S. Headof Institutional Coverage Credit Suisse First Boston New York, NY Age: 45. Bottom Line: Since the elevation to his current post in 2004, Skerritt has overseen the U.S. asset gathering efforts for Credit Suisse’s Prime Services securities lending business where he and his team have doubled assets under management to $130 billion in the past 12 months. Joining in 1999, Skerritt was part of the original team in New York that was formed to expand Credit Suisse’s third-party securities lending business. Prior to that, Skerritt was the chief operating officer of Lehman Brothers Trust. Co., where he developed a lending base of $20 billion in assets.
Maceo Sloan. Chairman, CEO & Chief Investment Officer NCM Capital Durham, NCAge: 58. Bottom Line: Sloan is the man behind the seventh-largest African American-owned asset management firm, with approximately $2.4 billion in assets under management. NCM’s clients include MARTA Union Employees’ Retirement System, Toyota Motor Sales, and California State Teachers’ Retirement System. Before founding NCM Capital, Sloan worked with North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Co. and its subsidiary, NCM Life Communications Inc., for 13 years. He currently serves as a Trustee of TIAA-CREF Funds Boards which includes the CREF, TIAA-CREF Mutual Funds, and TIAA-CREF Institutional Mutual Funds.
Eric L. Small. President & CEO SBK-Brooks Investment Corp. Cleveland, OH Age: 52. Bottom Line: Under Small’s stewardship, SBK-Brooks is one of the Midwest’s leading investment banking firms, holding at No. 8 on the BE INVESTMENT BANKS list. The firm is heading toward dominating the Ohio municipal debt marke
t. SBK-Brooks services municipal and corporate iss
ues and executes bond and equity trades for institutional investors including Fannie Mae, Fidelity Investments, and Oppenheimer Funds. Small’s investment prowess has helped sustain his reputation for picking companies that consistently outperform the competition. Within the past five years, he has participated in structuring over 300 municipal and corporate transactions totaling over $34 billion.
Gerald Smith. Chairman & CEO Smith, Graham & Co. Investment Advisors L.P. Houston, TX Age: 56. Bottom Line: Smith has established his company as the go-to investment management firm for value-added partnerships and superior equity investment products. He has propelled the firm to No. 8 on the BE ASSET MANAGERS list with more than $2.4 billion in fixed income and equity assets for 27 institutional clients globally. As one of the nation’s largest minority-owned fixed income investment firms, Smith, Graham specializes in managing portfolio strategies for institutional clients.
Gwendolyn Smith-Iloani. Chairwoman, President & CEO Smith Whiley & Co. Hartford, CT Age: 49. Bottom Line: The 24-year veteran specializes in buyouts, recapitalizations, acquisitions, growth capital private equity, and mezzanine debt investments. Smith-Iloani directs the firm’s investment advisory and asset management business. She has helped bolster the firm to $222 million in capital under management, a portfolio of 25 companies, and several private equity and mezzanine debt funds.