Biographies

Robert J. Bergland | (312) 443-1566
Robert Bergland is a Senior Vice President of Public Finance in the Chicago office. He has over twenty-five years of experience in municipal finance, the last seventeen with HSE. Bob's early training was in the trading and underwriting of municpal bonds. Bob's focus shifted to Illinois investment banking in 1998. Since then, Bob has worked almost exclusively with school districts in Illinois, developing financing solutions for a diverse group of clients. He particularly enjoys the research related to discovering the optimal solution for a particular type of debt financing. He also enjoys the corresponding education process, conveying these discoveries to school administrators and board members in lay terms. Bob assists school districts with tax rate and bond referendums, customizing referendum materials for their unique circumstances. Bob earned a B.S.B.A. in Finance from Denver University in 1979. He is a member of the Finance Committee for the Illinois Association of School Business Officials (IASBO), and is on the Service Associates Executive Committee for the Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB). Bob is involved in education seminars as a moderator and speaker for both organizations.

Ray Coyne | (312) 443-1567
Ray Coyne, a Senior Vice President of Public Finance in the Chicago office, joined HSE in March 2002. He has spent over twenty years working in public finance as a banker and spent eleven years prior to that working in the public sector on budgets, taxes, bonding, and communicating to the electorate the impact of taxing and spending decisions. Prior to working at HSE, Ray was a public finance banker at Banc One providing structuring advice, credit rating agency assistance, and public information assistance during referendums. He has also worked with school districts, counties, public building commissions, forest preserve districts, and municipalities at William Blair & Company and Stern Brothers & Co. Ray holds a B.A. in political science from Reed College and a M.A. and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Northwestern University. Ray is an active member of the Illinois Association of School Business Officials, the Government Finance Officers Association, and ASBO International and often speaks to board members about referenda issues in Illinois education.

Ersaline Jacob | (312) 443-1564
Ersaline Jacob is an Assistant Analyst who joined the Public Finance Group in October of 2002. In 1982, she joined Warburg Paribas Becker (later A. G. Becker) where she assisted the Managing Director of Public Finance and Assistant Managing Director of Corporate Finance. Ersaline was also employed in the Trust Department of Continental Bank. Her current responsibilities include the preparation of Official Statements and closing documents.