In his more than 50-year career in government finance, David Thompson focused on mentoring his employees and treating clients fairly.
Thompson worked for other firms for more than 30 years before, in 2004, he started his own successful and respected municipal advisory firm, Phoenix Advisors in New Jersey. He grew the firm from four employees to 23.
"My 50 years of public finance have been a rollercoaster of experiences," Thompson, Phoenix chief executive officer, told The Bond Buyer. "Every aspect of our industry has touched my career, presenting challenges, exhilaration, and sometimes, disappointment. Yet, it has also been deeply satisfying and always interesting.
"Clients bring their financial and capital needs and wants to our doorstep and expect solutions," Thompson said. "I've always liked solving problems, crafting solutions, and finishing the job. Sometimes, it's an innovative structure and sometimes it's avoiding the creative structure. Sometimes, it's getting clients to do what they don't want, but most often, it's simply getting the deal structured, fairly priced, closed, and affordable, which brings a deep sense of accomplishment."
Thompson's career started at New Jersey National Bank in Trenton, where he worked in commercial banking, lending, and bank management. In the early 1970s, he began specializing in selling banking services to governments.
Soon he became aware that governments were as interested in borrowing money as investing it. He started to advise governments on their bond issuances.
He began serving on the Bordentown Township board in 1979, and in 1982 he was elected mayor.
In the early 1980s Thompson became a private finance investment banker at Ehrlich-Bober & Co. From there he moved on to successive leadership roles at W. H. Newbold's American Capital Group, Janney Montgomery Scott, Cypress Securities, Commerce Bank, and Commerce Capital Markets before CCM closed its public finance operations in 2004.
Thompson and three CCM colleagues wanted to continue in public finance, so they set up Phoenix Advisors, with Thompson holding the controlling ownership and the other three holding minor stakes.
"Dave's vision, persistence, expertise and in-depth first-hand knowledge of New Jersey localities and the public finance community have been instrumental in developing an extensive municipal advisory practice that has provided invaluable and innovative service to numerous and varied governmental issuers," said Robert Beinfield, a partner at Hawkins Delafield & Wood.
Allison "Al" Fleitas, managing director of municipal note underwriting at Oppenheimer & Co., said, "Starting as a New Jersey banker in the early 1970s, David Thompson has seen it all. … As a de facto spokesman, David's advocacy for all bond underwriters and investors garnered respect industrywide. Phoenix Advisors is certainly his crowning achievement. Dave's satisfaction has always been to reward those who helped him make it happen."
Thompson said he told his partners, "If we do right by our clients, we'll get rich. Maybe not as fast as some others, but we'll get there."
However, Thompson believes his fellow Phoenix Advisors professionals are the firm's "most valuable asset." Part of retaining that asset has always been allowing them to take off time at the beginning, middle, or end of the day to attend to family responsibilities.
"Throughout his career, Dave has been a mentor and leader, sharing both knowledge of municipal finance and life lessons," said Phoenix Senior Managing Director Sherry Tracey.
"He encourages co-workers to explore new ideas and not always take the quickest route to the solution. Sometimes taking a longer path will bring new ideas and learning opportunities," she said.
"Mentoring is more than imparting knowledge," said Thompson, who is in the process of retiring. "It's recognizing the potential in a person that they don't yet see. It is helping them understand that mistakes are part of learning and that dancing means taking a step back sometimes. It means having them believe in your support, even when it is unnecessary."
