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Black Wealth
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Blacks in Wall
Street and Beyond
WILLIAM HAYDEN |
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When you walk into William Hayden's window-lined office, you can't help but notice the gleaming bronze sculpture of Bill Pickett, America's first African-American rodeo champion. Pickett is the perfect symbol for the veteran banker whose first client (and one of his biggest) at Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. was the State of Wyoming. Since 1975, Hayden, has served as this "wild west" state's senior banker. As a senior managing director and co-head of the firm's Public Finance Department, Hayden raises money for major corporations and state and local governments through tax-exempt bonds. Since joining Bear Stearns in 1984, he has led transactions from Connecticut, where in 1991 he was senior banker for Gov, Lowell Weicker's $800 million recovery bond program, to a $100 million financing for the Wyoming Community Development Authority, Bear Stearns ranks sixth in negotiated municipal financings, In the first six months of this year, the firm participated in 59 financings totaling $4.5 billion. Trying to get the 50-year-old partner to discuss the specifics of any one deal is nearly impossible. Like many in his business, Hayden's loyalty is to his firm and its clients. But a scattering of framed tombstones around his office reveals Bear Stearns as lead manager of a $233 million transaction for the Virgin Islands Public Finance Authority, as well as two transactions for New York--one for $2.3 billion for the state, the other for $850 million for the city. (Bear Stearns is one of five rotating senior managers for New York City.) As team leader of 70 officers and other professionals throughout the country, Hayden jokes: "I don't have to carry the bags anymore." His days are spent on strategic planning, overseeing transactions and meeting with CEOs, governors and mayors. He adds, "[When I first started] I knew a lot about a little. Now, I know a lot about a lot." While still in law school, Hayden worked for former Sen. Edward W. Brooke, who was then Massachusetts attorney general. Upon graduating from the New England School of Law in Boston, he launched a short but impressive government career. After making an unsuccessful bid for the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1964, Hayden served as a tax law specialist with the Treasury Department in Washington, D.C., and on the staff of President Lyndon Johnson's National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders before moving to New York City. Hayden's first stint as managing director was at First Boston Corp., which he joined in 1974 after leaving the New York State Urban Development Corp. Hayden sits on Bear Stearn's president's advisory council--which includes 27 (out of 180) of the firm's most valued senior-managing directors. As the former chairman of the National Association of Securities Professionals, Hayden is passionate about African-Americans building careers in majorityowned firms. "The vast amounts of capital and worldwide clout make the opportunities in these firms limitless," Hayden says.
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