PFM Group Names CEO Successor to John White

PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The PFM Group, (www.pfm.com), the nation's leading national provider of independent financial and investment advisory services to state and local governments and a top-performing manager of money market mutual funds for municipal entities, their agencies, and non-profit institutions, announced today that the firm has chosen a successor to CEO F. John White, who will become chairman. John H. Bonow, a 20-year veteran of the firm who has helped build the firm's Northwest practice into one of the firm's most successful sectors, was selected to lead the firm as Mr. White transitions into his new role by the end of this year.

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"I could not think of a better choice to lead this firm forward than John Bonow," Mr. White commented. "John has been an integral part of our growth since he joined PFM in 1991, and he has the drive, the vision, and the confidence of our partners and stakeholders that is essential to leading PFM to further success in the future."

PFM conducted a nationwide search in addition to considering internal candidates, explained Peter Miller, a PFM Managing Director and chair of the CEO Selection Committee. The Committee included several other PFM Managing Directors as well as members of PFM's Board of Directors and representatives of PFM's majority shareholders, ICV Partners. PFM was also assisted in the search and selection process by Korn Ferry International and TGCP, The Global Consulting Partnership.

"We are very pleased to have a leader with the talents and dedication of John Bonow to head PFM as we expand our services and grow our business while continuing to provide excellent value to our clients," Mr. White went on. "John has shown his abilities to build the business already, and has the strong respect and confidence of his fellow Managing Directors at PFM."

PFM's new CEO expressed gratitude to his partners and colleagues for their confidence, and great respect for his predecessor's accomplishments, noting that John White "has been an inspiration during my twenty years at PFM as he has led the firm through years of extraordinary and successful change." Looking to the future with enthusiasm, Mr. Bonow took note of the opportunities that PFM will embrace. "My priorities for the coming year are to build on PFM's outstanding culture of independence and dedication to client service, and to expand our service capacity. We are doing quite well in a difficult economic environment, despite the major changes facing our industry," he noted. "We must continue to manage risk appropriately, to invest in the right opportunities, and to innovate, share, and collaborate as we set and meet high performance expectations."

John Bonow joined PFM Group in 1991 following his graduation from Yale University with a major in Economics. He spent his first eleven years with PFM expanding the firm's West Coast Financial Advisory practice in the San Francisco office. In 2002, he opened PFM's Seattle office to better serve clients in the Pacific Northwest, and has grown that practice to one of PFM's largest geographic presences. It is also one of PFM's most diversified practices, offering a full range of PFM services to clients.

He currently manages the firm's Pacific Northwest and western U.S. environmental utilities practices. Mr. Bonow's clients include cities, counties, water utilities and water districts, wastewater and sanitation utilities, public power utilities, combined utilities, airports, health care providers, higher education institutions, and transportation agencies. He and his family will be relocating to Philadelphia, where PFM is headquartered.

The PFM Group of companies employs 450 professionals in 31 offices across the country. PFM Group includes Public Financial Management, Inc., the top-ranked financial advisory firm in the nation, providing independent financial advisory services to a broad base of  local, state, and regional government and non-profit clients throughout the United States. The firm is well-respected for providing those clients with independent advisory services free of conflicts in their dealings with the capital markets in the fields of Higher Education, Public Power, Transportation, Healthcare, Strategic Consulting and Pension Management, among others. Since its founding in 1974, PFM has been involved in financing programs totaling in excess of $578 billion, and for the first six months of 2011 alone, PFM advised clients on $15.5 billion of total debt issuances in 352 separate transactions.  In addition, PFM Asset Management LLC (PFMAM), also part of the PFM Group of companies, had $40.7 billion in assets under management and provided investment consulting services for an additional $19.6 billion in securities as of June 30, 2011. PFMAM is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. The PFM Group of companies also provides best practices strategic consulting and pension advisory consulting services.

SOURCE The PFM Group