Title: Debt Specialist
Firm: City and County of San Francisco
Age: 28
Former banker Luke Brewer left RBC to take a position as a debt specialist with the City and County of San Francisco and is now leading the city’s efforts on possibly its
In discussing his switch to an issuer role, Luke said it began after Anna Van Degna left Stifel to become director of the Controller’s Office of Public Finance for the City and County of San Francisco.
“We had never worked together at Stifel (where Brewer started his career), but we had always gotten along really well,” he said.
When he was looking for a change from RBC, he reached out to Van Degna, who was building her team.
“She said if I wanted to come to the city, she still had a position, but I would have to go through the city hiring process, which isn’t easy,” Luke said.
Luke co-founded California Muni Pride, a public finance networking group for people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer. The other co-founders are Rising Star alumni Alexander Vaisman, managing vice president for the West region and head of the national higher education practice at Build America Mutual, and Roberto Ruiz, a managing director at Stifel Financial Corp.
Luke learned the value of being able to be comfortably “out at work,” when he joined Stifel in San Francisco and Ruiz had shown you could succeed as an openly gay person.
“I think people do better work when they can bring their whole self to work,” Luke said.
He led the city’s first non-rated community facilities district financing to fund Treasure Island/Yerba Island infrastructure in collaboration with the Treasure Island Development Authority.
In addition to his work on Treasure Island, Luke manages San Francisco’s $1.4 billion certificates of participation program and $250 million lease revenue commercial paper program.
“Luke is an issuer superstar,” said David Brodsly, a KNN managing director. “He brings a solid foundation from his banking experience, along with his inherent intelligence, good humor and energy. He leverages it all by being able to balance multiple projects, retain detail at his fingertips and keep his focus on the public policy reason we are all in the room.”
