RFPC > About RFPC

Founded Rice Financial Products Company in 1994. Has overseen the implementation of $30 billion of municipal derivative transactions. A founding member of Merrill Lynch and Co.’s municipal derivative products group.

MBA from Harvard Business School (with distinction), bachelor’s degree in engineering from Kettering University.

Rodney Ellis
Partner

Founder of Apex Securities, Inc.—Rice Financial’s broker-dealer subsidiary. Currently serving out his sixth term in the Texas State Senate. Diverse background in international finance.

Law degree from the University of Texas School of Law, master's degree from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, bachelor's degree from Texas Southern University.

Michael Murray

Partner

Leads Rice Financial’s derivative efforts. Has executed more than $30 billion of derivative products. Previously led the Financial Engineering Group of Merrill Lynch’s Municipal Markets Division.

Bachelor’s degree in computer systems engineering from Howard University.

23 years of investment banking experience in the United States, Africa and Latin America. Previously with Morgan Stanley and Smith Barney.

MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, bachelor’s degree in economics from Dartmouth College.

Tony Stovall

Partner

Formerly co-head of the Investment Banking Department at M. R. Beal & Company. Responsible for some of the largest transactions completed by M. R. Beal, including a $306 million financing for the Alameda County, California, and a $302 financing for the State of Wisconsin.

Bachelor’s degree in economics from Howard University.

Cristal Baron
Chief Financial
Officer

Responsible for the overall financial management and integrity of the firm. Previously with JPMorgan Private Bank and Merrill Lynch, most recently as a director in the Municipal Markets Division.

MBA from McGill University in Montreal, bachelor’s degree from Howard University.

Actively involved in groundbreaking transactions for Midway Airport, O’Hare International Airport, the Chicago Transit Authority, Milwaukee County Airport and the State of Wisconsin. Former Chief Financial Officer of the Chicago Housing Authority. Joined the firm from First Albany Capital.

Bachelor’s degree in economics from Spelman College.

William Fisher

Managing Director

Established Rice Financial Products Company's office in Atlanta in 2006 where he provides investment banking services to clients throughout the Southeast and higher education clients nationwide. Previous manager of M. R. Beal & Company.

Bachelor’s degree from Howard University.

David Womack
Managing Director

More than 25 years of experience as an investment banker and financial advisor in public finance and real estate, most recently at Citigroup, where he was a director in the Infrastructure Group. Extensive experience serving not-for-profit institutions, including higher education issuers, independent schools, charter schools and cultural facilities.

Mark Miller
Senior Vice President

22 years of experience in financial services and manufacturing. Client base of state agencies, counties, cities, school districts, port authorities, airports and corporations.

Bachelor’s degree in finance from Pennsylvania State University.

Mark Yates
Managing Director

23 years of experience in the financial services industry. Has raised more than $1 billion for municipal clients. Previously with First Horizon National Corporation and Morgan Keegan.

Executive management of business degree from the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University, bachelor’s degree in economics with a finance specialization from Howard University.

Philip Smith
Senior Vice President

Manages the firm’s Mid-Atlantic clients and selected clients throughout the Southeast. 13 years of municipal finance experience working with a variety of credits and issuers. Responsible for the firm’s municipal bond technical analysis since the late 1990s.

Bachelor’s degree in economics (highest honors) from Hampton University.

Dionyse Fitzwilliam
Senior Vice President

Has worked on the marketing, structuring and execution of more than $5 billion of interest rate swaps for municipal and health care issuers nationwide. Previously with Merrill Lynch’s Tax-Exempt Money Markets and Capital Markets groups.

Bachelor’s degree in finance (summa cum laude) from Baruch College CUNY.

Christopher

St. James

Vice President

25 years of experience in the securities industry and participation as underwriter or financial advisor in the issuance of more than $100 billion in taxable and tax-exempt municipal bonds.

Seven years of municipal derivatives experience, with clientele ranging from state and local governments and higher education institutions to project finance and student loan issuers.

Carmen Munoz

Vice President

Joined Rice Financial in 1995. Manages daily operations, including payroll, insurance benefits, equipment research and procurement, event planning, and personnel supervision and training. Manages the strategic direction of company’s goals and prioritizes event and conference initiatives supporting that direction.

Matriculated certificate program in principles of accounting from City University of New York, associate’s degree from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Shannon Briggs

Vice President

Gayle Davis
Senior Associate

Responsible for providing analytical and client management services to clients nationwide. Previously with Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Jackson Securities.

Yancey Peyton
Associate

Has assisted in the structuring and execution of more than $1.3 billion in senior managed municipal bond financings. Previously employed at Deutsche Bank Securities.

Bachelor’s degree from Morehouse College.

Jerome Cox
Associate

Has assisted in the structuring and execution of more than $800 million in senior managed municipal bond and swap transactions. Previously employed in Citigroup’s Public Finance Department.

Bachelor’s degree with concentration in finance and accounting from Clark Atlanta University.

Provides general quantitative support for clients nationwide, including cash flows, debt capacity analysis and credit analysis. Previously with Citigroup.

Bachelor’s degree with concentration in finance from the University of Michigan Business School.

Performs quantitative analysis and assists in the execution of swap and bond transactions. Previously employed at UBS.

Bachelor’s degree with concentration in political science from Duke University.

Howard Mackey, III
Manager, Syndicate, Sales & Trading

24 years of experience. Senior manager of more than 120 municipal issues totaling $5.5 billion. Senior managed the largest municipal bond issue every underwritten by a minority controlled firm ($634 million). Directs a team of seasoned institutional salespeople and underwriters averaging 24 years of experience. Previously head of the Municipal Bond Sales, Trading and Underwriting Department at M. R. Beal & Company and a managing director and partner with Pryor, McClendon, Counts & Company.

MBA in finance from Columbia University, bachelor’s degree in business finance from Howard University.

Robert Bergamini

Managing Director - Syndicate, Sales and Trading

38-year veteran of the industry. Previously with Standard and Poor’s Pricing Services, Thompson McKinnon, Advest & Co., Banc One and M.R. Beal & Company.

Bachelor’s degree in retail marketing (cum laude) from The New York Technical College.

James Bogorowski
Managing Director - Syndicate, Sales and Trading

26 years of experience. Previously with Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch and Advest.

Bachelor’s degree in economics from Gettysburg College.

Kenneth Bruce, Jr.
Senior Vice President

Concentrates on the marketing, trading, structuring and origination of United States debt, foreign sovereignty debt, U.S. Government Sponsored Enterprise debt and corporate debt. 25 years of experience. Focuses on the firm’s relationships with institutional investors in the public and privately managed funds sectors.

Bachelor’s degree in business and finance from Southwest Missouri State University.

Carol Mackoff
Managing Director

30-year veteran and manager of Rice’s Illinois fixed income activities and the firm’s Chicago institutional sales desk. Focuses on risk management as applied to Treasury and capital markets products, including interest rate swaps, asset-liability management, synthetic funding and yield enhancement strategies for institutional clients.

MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School of Management, master’s degree in teaching from Northwestern University, bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan.

Geoffrey Carey
Senior Vice President

Vice President, Syndicate, Sales & Trading

26 years of experience in the municipal securities market. Formerly a director in the municipal department at Wachovia Securities and a senior vice president at M. R. Beal & Company.

Bachelor’s degree from Marist College.

Kenneth Kramer
Senior Vice President

Vice President, Syndicate, Sales & Trading

24 years of experience selling municipal bonds to institutional accounts. Previously employed with Liss, Tenner and Goldberg; Glickenhaus; and Belle Haven.

Bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Stonybrook.

28 years of experience selling and trading municipal bonds. Previously with Chapdelaine & Co., Bear Stearns & Co., First Union/Wachovia and CIBC.

Tim Barbera
Vice President, Syndicate, Sales & Trading

10 years of municipal bond trading experience, including institutional sales and brokering. Assists the head underwriter in pricing, sales, and underwriting of municipal bonds. Previously with Titus & Donnelly L.L.P.

MBA and bachelor’s degree from Seton Hall University.

Felix Jenkins

Vice President, Syndicate, Sales & Trading