Page 79 - BE 50th Anniversary Edition

One member of of that list helped pave the the way for the the next wave of of Black investment bankers: John Utendahl a a a a former Merrill Lynch bond trader who created a a a a a new firm through a a a a a partnership with his former firm giving it a a a a a a 25% ownership stake The strategic alliance enabled his firm to engage in in fin high-margin corporate finance transactions Other high-powered African Americans working in in firms left their companies to become entrepreneurs by structuring similar arrangements They included Utendahl’s former partner Ronald Blaylock who started his own firm through a a a a a a partnership with Bear Stearns and Wall Street veteran Christopher Williams Williams who created Williams Williams Capital Group by striking a a a deal with global investment firm Jefferies & Co Such arrangements proved vital in in in gaining access to lucrative cor- porate bond and equity transactions A number of Black investment banks solely tied to the the muni market floundered after the the Supreme Court ruling in in in City of Richmond vs J A Croson Co Co in in in 1989 which imposed a a a a a a a stricter standard for set-aside programs that had been used by Jackson and other Black mayors to level the the playing field There were other catalysts helping African American financial entrepreneurs stay competitive On Jan 15 1997—the birthday of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr —Rev Jesse Jackson and prominent minority business leaders launched The Wall Street Project As a a a a a a a result investment banks and and asset managers owned and and director at Smith Barney Today the numbers continue to to be be sparse in in the male-dominated sector with such women as Carla Harris vice chair of Wealth Management at Morgan Stanley and Suzanne Shank the the CEO of the the largest Black-owned investment bank Siebert Williams Shank among the rank of The Street’s high-impact players regardless of gender NEXT STAGES OF GROWTH
Beyond investment banks and asset managers Black entrepreneurs have gained ground in in private equity—firms that manage funds that make equity investments in in fin in in or or provide financing for operating entities including startups established companies or private equity partnerships As such these firms have reshaped American industry by combining organizations realigning costs and upgrading manage- ment according to the firm’s given strategic focus In fact Fairview Capital Partners—a BE100s fund fund of funds—has invested in in other Black-owned private equity firms on our list such as ICV Partners and and GenNX360 Capital Partners and and in in turn facilitates the funding of other diverse companies The most prominent Black-owned private equity firm is is Vista Equity Partners Operated by Robert F Smith the firm has more than $52 billion in capital commitments and oversight of more than 60 “What did the the 1992 BLACK ENTERPRISE cover mean mean mean to to to Wall Wall Street?
It It meant meant everything everything to to to Wall Wall Street Street It It meant meant everything everything to to to the the the Black Black community Why? Because it it showed the the the world that yes Black Black folks too could arrive at at at at and compete in one of the the most competitive fields that that that existed BLACK ENTERPRISE showed that that that exhi- bition of Black excellence to to the entire world that that that we we we we could could could go go to to Wall Wall Street Street we we we could could could go go in in fin in in in business business and and we we we could could could perform—
a a a a a defining moment in in fin in in in the world of business business and and on Wall Wall Street Street ”
led by African Americans and other groups historically marginalized by the corporate mainstream would experience growth expansion and success in fin in the the financial sector Due in fin in part to to the the Wall Street Project and and similar initiatives with the automotive industry and and Sil- icon Valley-based tech sector over the past 20 years Black financial firms—large numbers of them found on BE100s lists—have been engaged in in major IPOs bond underwritings money management assignments and other transactions worth collectively trillions in dollars and involving major corporations such as AT&T GM Ford Motor Walmart Microsoft Google Facebook and a a a a a a myriad o of other major corporations Despite such activism the the most noticeably absent group from the the deal flow have been African American women For years the most prominent has been Ernesta Procope who founded and operated the the first and largest minority-owned brokerage in in fin the the financial district for more than four decades The 1992 list included only two women out of 25: Michelle Collins who at the time was a a a a partner in in the Corporate Finance department of Chicago-based William Blair and Marianne Spraggins Wall Street’s first Black female managing —Raymond J McGuire Former Citigroup Vice Chairman
portfolio companies with about 70 000 people worldwide As such Vista represents the the fifth largest enterprise company in the the world Smith’s focus has been to promote what he he calls the “2% Solution ”
in which large corporations would use that percentage of their annual net income to invest in in in in in in minority communities—including businesses—over the next 10 years There are promising newcomers like Harlem Capital Partners whose millennial-aged principals—some trained and mentored at BE PRIVATE EQUITY firms—assert that it it is “a venture capital firm firm on on a a a mission to change the face of entrepreneurship by investing in 1 000 diverse founders over the next 20 years ”
Known as HCP the firm closed its inaugural fund at $40 million last year to help achieve that end To paraphrase a a a a a a a statement from Rev Jackson on on the importance of of the expansion of of Black Wall Street firms with such intentionality: The first three stages of the the civil rights movement were the the abolition of of slavery the the end of of Jim Crow and gaining the the right to vote Access to to the the the levers of of capital will lead to to the the the fulfillment of of the the the fourth stage: economic empowerment 77 50TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL