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Board of Directors

Senior Management

Municipal Underwriting Team

  • Seán W. McCarthy
    Seán W. McCarthy

    Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer; Chair, Investment Committee and Member, Risk Committee

    Seán McCarthy co-founded Build America Mutual Assurance Company, the first mutual municipal bond insurer, in July 2012. Prior to that, he was President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Assured Guaranty (NYSE: AGO), following its acquisition of Financial Security Assurance (FSA) in July 2009. He was formerly President and COO of FSA. Mr. McCarthy joined FSA in 1988 as head of the Asia-Pacific business, opening that market for public finance. He subsequently headed all business groups prior to becoming COO and, in that position, was instrumental in developing the necessary resources for FSA to enter the municipal business in 1990. He also chaired the Association of Financial Guaranty Insurers from 2006 to 2011. In earlier positions, Mr. McCarthy was a vice-president in the municipal group of PaineWebber and served at E. F. Hutton in the public finance group. He graduated from Georgetown University (BA,1982).

  • Clarence Anthony
    Clarence Anthony

    Chairman of the Board; Chair, Risk Committee; Member, Audit Committee and Human Resources Committee

    Clarence E. Anthony serves as CEO and Executive Director of the National League of Cities (NLC), the oldest and largest organization of municipal officials in the United States, representing more than 2000 cities and towns. Prior to his appointment as Executive Director of NLC, Mr. Anthony served as President of Anthony Government Solutions, a consulting firm to government and private sector organizations, and was previously Mayor of South Bay, Florida, for 24 years. Mr. Anthony has been on the forefront of politics in the United States and internationally for the past 20 years, and served as President of both the Florida League of Cities and the National League of Cities. He also served as First Vice President of International Union of Local Authorities and as Founding Treasurer of United Cites and Local Governments (UCLG), the international voice for local governments, and as the Interim Manager for UCLG. He holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration with specialization in City Growth Management Policy from Florida Atlantic University.

  • Manning Rountree
    Manning Rountree

    Director; Member, Human Resources Committee and Risk Committee

    Manning Rountree is the Chief Executive Officer of White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd. (WTM), a publicly-traded, Bermuda-domiciled holding company for insurance and financial services interests around the world. He was formerly President of White Mountains Capital, where he oversaw transactions, mergers and acquisitions and new business development. From 2009 to 2014, he also served as President of White Mountains Advisors, the company’s in-house asset management operation.
    Prior to joining WTM in 2004, Manning was a consultant at McKinsey & Company, focused on the insurance, asset management and financial services sectors, and the Director of Corporate Development for Putnam Investments, a Boston-based asset management company.
    Manning has a BS in Mathematical Economics and a BA in English, Summa Cum Laude, from Wake Forest University. Manning has a JD, Magna Cum Laude, from the Northwestern School of Law, and an MM, With Distinction, from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management. Manning was a 1998 Henry Luce Scholar and spent that year helping the Development Bank of Singapore acquire and recapitalize banks in Southeast Asia in the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis.

  • Reid Campbell
    Reid Campbell

    Director; Member, Audit Committee, Investment Committee, and Nominating and Governance Committee

    Reid Campbell is a member of the Board of Directors of White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd. (WTM), a publicly-traded, Bermuda-domiciled holding company for insurance and financial services interests around the world. Reid retired as President of WTM in 2024 after 30 years with the company.  Prior to his role as President, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of WTM, President of White Mountains Advisors, the company’s in-house asset management operation, and a Managing Director of White Mountains Capital, where he oversaw the company’s capital management and treasury functions. Prior to joining WTM in 1994, Reid spent three years with KPMG in its Stamford, Connecticut audit practice. He is a registered Certified Public Accountant in the state of Connecticut and a member of the Connecticut Society of CPAs and the AICPA. Reid has a BS in Business Administration and Accounting from Washington & Lee University, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude.

  • Natalie Cohen
    Natalie Cohen

    Director; Chair, Audit Committee, and Member, Risk Committee

    Natalie Cohen is president and founder of National Municipal Research, Inc., a consulting and research company focused on U.S. state and local government finance. She recently served as Head of Municipal Research at Wells Fargo Securities, and previously worked at New York City OMB, a rating agency, the first monoline reinsurance company, and several primary bond insurers. She was awarded a “Lifetime Achievement” award by Smith’s Research and Gradings and named a “Trailblazing Woman in Public Finance” by The Bond Buyer. She has been a member of the Government Accounting Standards Advisory Council, a Board member of the National Federation of Municipal Analysts, a member of the Government Finance Officers Association standing budget committee and is on the National League of Cities Public Sector Retirement Advisory Committee. Ms. Cohen holds an MPA from New York University’s Wagner School of Public Service and a BA from Hampshire College.

  • Suzanne Finnegan
    Suzanne Finnegan

    Director and Chief Credit Officer; Chair, Nominating and Governance Committee and Member, Risk Committee

    Suzanne Finnegan has responsibility for underwriting approval of all transactions for insurance. Prior to joining BAM, she was Executive Vice President at Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., where she was the Senior Credit Officer overseeing credit transactions in the Government Banking segment. From 1990 to 2004, she was the Chief Municipal Underwriting Officer at FSA, responsible for domestic municipal finance underwriting, and was Chair of the Municipal Underwriting Committee. Prior to joining FSA, she was Vice President and Manager of the General Surveillance Department at MBIA and earlier supervised MBIA’s Special Tax and Leasing Group. She previously worked in the Public Finance Division of Marine Midland Bank and in the Municipal Research Group at Oppenheimer & Co. Suzanne is a past Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Association for Governmental Leasing and Finance. She is a member of the National Federation of Municipal Analysts, the Southern Municipal Analysts Society, and the Municipal Analysts Group of New York. She received a Bachelor of Science degree from St. John’s University and an M.B.A. from Fordham University.

  • John White
    John White

    Director; Chair, Human Resources Committee; Member, Audit Committee, Investment Committee, and Nominating and Governance Committee

    John White serves as a Managing Director, Chairman, and a member of the Board of Directors for the PFM Group, which is a leading provider of independent financial advisory services and asset management to public sector and not-for-profit clients across the US. He previously served PFM as its Chief Executive Officer for more than 30 years, until the conclusion of 2011. Prior to joining PFM in 1980, Mr. White held policy-making positions in various aspects of local, state and federal governments, including serving as director of the transition staff when Congressman William Green was elected Mayor of Philadelphia, and later as a transition advisor to Edward G. Rendell when he was elected Mayor of Philadelphia in 1991 and Governor of Pennsylvania in 2002. Mr. White was educated at The William Penn Charter School, where he currently serves as Treasurer of the Board of Overseers. He is a graduate of Muhlenberg College. In the past he has been a member of the Boards of the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce and the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts as well as Chair of the Philadelphia Zoning Board.