Top Finance Strategists Marvin Markus & Mark Liff Join Siebert Williams Shank as Managing Directors
Move Bolsters Firm’s Commitment to Infrastructure and Higher Education Practices
New York, NY - March 27, 2023 - Siebert Williams Shank & Co. (SWS), the nation’s leading woman- and minority-owned, non-bank financial firm, has announced the hiring of Marvin Markus and Mark Liff, two financial industry veterans whose decades of experience will further strengthen and expand the capabilities of the firm’s infrastructure and higher education divisions.
“With the addition of Marvin Markus and Mark Liff, our firm is adding two senior bankers with a long track record of success for some exceptionally well-respected clients and major, large-scale transactions. We are thrilled that they selected Siebert Williams Shank for the next and greatest stage of their careers,” said Suzanne Shank, President & CEO.
“Siebert Williams Shank is strong because of the remarkable talent and professionals we are attracting to be part of our firm. Even in times when other firms have paused their hiring initiatives, we have remained focused on strategic growth.”
Markus was the lead banker in the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan following the 9-11 terrorist attacks under the "Liberty Bond” program, including Towers One, 3, 4 and 7 of the World Trade Center, and the Manhattan headquarters for Goldman Sachs and IAC. He has been a trusted advisor to public sector clients, including: the Empire State Development Corporation, Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, United Nations Development Corporation, Veterans Administration along with the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Education, Transportation and Housing and Urban Development.
Markus, a 40-year veteran of infrastructure investment and banking will serve as a Senior Advisor and Managing Director. In this role, he will strengthen the infrastructure and real estate practice of SWS, lending his experience to financing initiatives that intersect the municipal markets, including real estate and structured finance and securitization.
Over the course of his career, Markus worked at Goldman Sachs, Paine Webber, Kidder Peabody, and Bear Stearns, where he held senior roles and led significant financings. These included tax-exempt projects on behalf of numerous governmental clients at the federal, state, and local level, as well as international sovereign entities.
He also served two terms as Chair of NY City Rent Guidelines Board and the New York City Redistricting Commission. Prior to his move into investment banking, he was the Deputy Commissioner of the city’s Department of Housing Preservation & Development and led its policy and intergovernmental affairs.
“I am thrilled to join a first-class investment banking operation. Siebert Williams Shank’s reputation for expertly executed funding of top infrastructure projects is second to none. I could not imagine a better fit and be able to continue facilitating the most important transactions of our time,” said Markus.
Mark Liff has joined SWS as a Managing Director following a decades-long career providing comprehensive investment banking services to major private and public colleges and universities, as well as prominent not-for-profit institutions. At institutions that include UBS Financial Services, JP Morgan and Merrill Lynch, Liff helped develop and implement complex financing and directed credit/rating strategies for major higher educational institutions, including Cornell University, Princeton University, New York University, California Institute of the Arts, University of Massachusetts, University of Connecticut, Lehigh University, Boston University, and all of New Jersey’s public colleges and universities.
Gary Hall, President of Infrastructure & Public Finance at SWS said: “Siebert continues to make strategic hires to add top tier talent to grow our different practice specialties and regional teams. Marvin and Mark’s depth and breadth of experience will raise the bar for our infrastructure and higher educational practices and allow SWS to continue delivering deeper and impactful opportunities to clients across the nation.”
Mark has driven major investment opportunities and transactions for clients, including the Rhode Island Convention Center Authority’s 14,000 seat capacity Amica Mutual Pavilion acquisition, and in New Jersey, he served as senior manager to the State’s most recent Higher Education Capital Improvement Fund credit restructuring and bond issuance.
He has served in senior capacities for the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (“DASNY”), New Jersey Educational Facilities Authority (“NJEFA”), Maine Health and Higher Educational Facilities Authority (“MHHEFA”) and Rhode Island Health and Educational Building Corporation (“RIHEBC”), for which he helped establish that state’s public schools’ revenue bond program.
On the nonprofit side, Mark served as senior banker to institutions, including: the American Red Cross, Metropolitan Opera, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Children’s Aid Society, UJA-Federation, Institute for Advanced Study, Institute of International Education, YMCA of Greater New York, New England Aquarium, Low Income Investment Fund, American Museum of Natural History, Salvation Army, and Consumer Union of the United States.
“I am excited to join the Siebert Williams Shank team to help public and private colleges and universities and other not-for-profits achieve their strategic and financing objectives” said Liff.
Dually headquartered in New York, NY and Oakland, CA, SWS is an independent non-bank financial services firm that offers investment banking, sales and trading, research, and advisory services. SWS counts 74 Fortune 100 companies among its clients.
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