California Treasurer Fiona Ma announced replacements for two of her top deputies late Friday.
They will be appointed on Wednesday, the day after the election, if Ma wins a second term.
Ma is expected to defeat Republican Jack Guerrero in Tuesday's election, as she won 57% of the vote in the June primary, compared to 22% for Guerrero. California state primaries send the top two finishers to a November runoff, regardless of party.
Ma had
Deputy Treasurer Tim Schaefer, 75, a well-known figure in the muni bond world, made the decision to retire. Her other deputies, chief deputy Genevieve Jopanda, and Audrey Noda, deputy treasurer for health & education are also leaving.
"I will be starting with a new leadership team for the next four years," Ma said in the interview.
Patrick Henning was named the new chief deputy treasurer, effective Wednesday.
"With such an extensive and diverse background of public service, I am both grateful and excited to have Patrick join our team," Ma said in Friday's statement. "As I prepare for my second term as California's 34th State Treasurer, I truly believe he, along with all of you, will be integral to the continued success of the state treasurer's office and my administration."
Henning comes over from the Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas, where he was director of legislative advocacy.
Prior to that, Henning was an appointee of the past four California governors, serving in such roles as director of the state's Employment Development Department, legislative advocate for the California State Council of Laborers and assistant secretary for legislation and intergovernmental affairs at the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency from 2003 to 2004. He also did a stint earlier in his career from 1999 to 2000 as a congressional liaison and special advisor to President Bill Clinton in the office of presidential personnel from 1999 to 2000.
Juan Fernandez will replace Schaefer, as deputy treasurer for public finance. Schaefer quietly
Fernandez began his career in the state treasurer's office in 1995 and worked there until 2006 when he left to work for J.P. Morgan, where he remained until 2021.
As a municipal banker at J.P. Morgan he was responsible for coverage of state, county, city and utility clients in California and Nevada. During his time in the state treasurer's office, he held such roles as director of the treasurer's office's director of the Securities Management Division, overseeing payment and registration of the state's bonds, and the clearing and safekeeping of the Pooled Money Investment Account assets. He was then director of the treasurer's office Public Finance Division from 2002-2006. During that time, he managed the relationship with rating agencies and investors during times of financial stress for the state of California following the energy crisis and the burst of the dot-com bubble.
"Altogether, Juan brings 28 years of experience in public finance, both as an issuer and a banker, back to the STO," Ma said. "I am confident that his combination of public and private sector finance experience, expertise, and leadership will prove invaluable to this office."
