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Team Resumes |
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John R. Axe
John R. Axe is the founder, former President *, and current Chairman of MFCI. Upon graduation from Harvard Law School in 1963, Mr. Axe associated with a major Detroit law firm and became a partner in that firm in 1971. Mr. Axe and three other attorneys left the firm in January, 1981 to form their own law firm, the successor to which (Axe & Schwartz) was merged with Dykema Gossett effective October 1, 1985.
Until 1987, MFCI was a subsidiary of the law firms (Axe and Schwartz and then Dykema Gossett) in which Axe served as a general partner and head of the Public Finance Departments.
In April 1987, Axe acquired three quarters of the shares of the Company from Dykema Gossett and currently owns more than 80% of the Company.
Prior to founding of MFCI in January, 1981, Mr. Axe served as financial consultant for more than 100 different issuers for more than 400 issues on the state, regional, and local levels of government in Michigan. Mr. Axe has served as lead financial consultant, on all municipal issues in which MFCI was involved from January, 1981 through December, 1991. Since the founding of MFCI, Mr. Axe has structured, marketed, closed, and delivered over 1,200 bond and note issues for its various clients and has worked closely with a variety of bond counsel.
In addition to his experience as practicing bond attorney and financial consultant in municipal issues, Mr. Axe is a co-author of Municipal Michigan Law, a two-volume work published in 1981 by the Institute of Continuing Legal Education for The University of Michigan. Mr. Axe has served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Bond Lawyers (NABL) from 1987 to 1990 and has served on the Steering Committees for NABL’s Bond Attorneys’ Workshop for the years 1980, 1981, 1983, 1986, 1989 and 1990. In 1992, he was appointed as a member of the Permanent Adjunct Faculty of the Wayne State University Law School where he teaches public finance.
* Formerly the President until November 1, 2004 when he was appointed Chairman.
As of November 1, 2004, Louis H. Schimmel, joined our firm as President and will work as a consultant on specific projects. Also, in Mr. Axe's absence, he will be available to oversee the day-to-day activities.
In February 2001 Louis Schimmel retired as the Executive Director of the Municipal Advisory Council of Michigan, a statistical clearinghouse for investment bankers located throughout the United States who underwrite and/or invest in Michigan municipal bond issues. While employed at the Municipal Advisory Council of Michigan, the Wayne County Michigan Circuit Court appointed Mr. Schimmel Receiver for the debt-ridden City of Ecorse on December 3, 1986. He served as the City's Receiver for 3 years and 9 months during which period he completely eliminated the City's $6,000,000 deficit by negotiating unique union contracts and by privatizing nearly all of the services provided by the City.
In November 2000 the State of Michigan again asked Schimmel to bail out a financially troubled city – this time the City of Hamtramck. He currently is the State appointed Emergency Financial Manager for Hamtramck and again has been successful in bailing a city out of its financial problems by privatizing services, re-negotiating union contracts and streamlining city government operations.
In January 1999, Governor Engler appointed Schimmel to serve on the Michigan Commission on Public Pension and Retiree Health Benefits. On August 1, 1992, Governor Engler appointed Schimmel a member of the Michigan Public--Private Partnership Commission. The Commission submitted an extensive report to the Governor for improving service delivery and increasing efficiency in State government. In 1990 he received the Outstanding Service and Leadership in the Public Sector award from the Michigan State Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. Schimmel has a vast background in municipal finance, has served on numerous boards and committees and is a frequent speaker on municipal finance matters. He has authored several articles and trade publications and continually advises state and local officials on the marketing of municipal bond issues. He is recognized in the municipal bond industry as an authority on the creditworthiness of Michigan municipal debt issues. He also has been featured in several newspaper and magazine articles including the Wall Street Journal for his success in managing financially troubled municipalities.
In the past Mr. Schimmel served on the Waterford, Michigan School Board for eight years--two years as board president. He is a past president of the Bond Club of Detroit. He also served on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the Pontiac State Bank from 1972 to 1988 and was instrumental in the sale of Pontiac State Bank to the then National Bank of Detroit. Mr. Schimmel is a graduate of Michigan State University and resides in Waterford, Michigan.
Dale E. Deis has been employed by our firm since April, 1986 and in July, 2000 was appointed Senior Vice President. His primary function is the management of County issued General Obligation Limited Tax Note borrowings. These note issues are paid monthly, and since 1989 Mr. Deis has rolled over approximately 6,000 monthly note payments. He also assists in the preparation and distribution of all our client’s financial prospectuses, and has done so for over 1,000 bond and note issues. His expertise is in performing complex quantitative analyses such as feasibility studies and refunding analyses, which over the last twelve years has saved municipalities over $33,000,000 in interest costs. Mr. Deis manages all of our firm’s billing and accounts receivable, in addition, he also serves as the supervisor to the company’s computer network system. With over twenty two years experience, Mr. Deis is able to assist and complete all of MFCI’s services.
In 1997, Mr. Deis graduated from Walsh College with a Bachelor of Business Administration with a strong concentration in finance. He then continued at Walsh College with post-graduate classes until 2001 when he completed a Master's of Business Administration.
Meredith A. Shanle
Meredith A. Shanle joined our firm in 1993 and currently serves as Senior Vice President of the Pre-Sale Division. A graduate of the University of Colorado, she has undertaken post-graduate courses at Wayne State University. She is in charge of obtaining credit ratings for all our bond and note issues, which includes preparing and summarizing financial information, and assisting and accompanying clients at meetings with rating agencies. She also engages in the planning, preparation, and delivery of all current note and bond issues. Ms. Shanle coordinates with the Municipal Finance Division of the Department of Treasury on qualification of the issuer or, if necessary, the filing of the application for approval for each issue. Ms. Shanle also orchestrates the drafting, proofing, and finalizing of all official statements used with respect to the issuance of notes and bonds.
Deborah M. Hartson
Deborah M. Hartson who joined the firm in 1999 has been elected Vice President in charge of the firm’s closing division. Ms. Hartson performs all bond and note closings, including all post-sale filings with the State and Federal Government. She has strong computer and mathematical skills and is able to assist in many of MFCI’s services. Ms. Hartson, who is a graduate of the University of Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut, had experience with other firms prior to joining MFCI.
Samantha Van Gorder
Samantha Van Gorder joined the firm in 2008 and has been recently appointed Assistant Vice President. She assists Ms. Shanle in all her responsibilities, especially in the preparation of the direct and overlapping debt schedules for all bond and note issues. Ms. Van Gorder has a Bachelor of Business Administration from Wayne State University. |
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Municipal Financial Consultants Incorporated |
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21 Kercheval Avenue Suite 360 Grosse Pointe Farms, MI 48236 |