Former N.Y. governor joins broker-dealer IFS Securities

Former New York Governor David Paterson has joined broker-dealer IFS Securities in Atlanta, where he will be chief strategist of U.S. affairs and chairman of the IFS Advisory Board. As part of his role, Mr. Paterson will help guide and assist the broker-dealer and introduce IFS Securities to public companies, municipalities, pension funds and other businesses and organizations. He will also provide advice to the board of directors and senior management as chair of the advisory board. “I believe he'll be very strategic in providing us guidance on how to deal with public companies in terms of his experiences and also insight,” Alex McKenzie, chief executive of IFS Securities, said. He will “help provide direction as we continue to grow the firm.” Mr. Paterson, who was the first African American governor for the state, was lieutenant governor when then-Gov. Eliot Spitzer resigned amid a prostitution scandal. He became governor during the financial crisis of 2008 and stayed in that position until 2010. “His resume speaks for itself,” J.T. Sadler, chief operating officer of IFS Securities, said. “As former governor of New York during one of the biggest crises in the nation's history, he had to navigate a lot of the ins and outs in the financial crisis.” IFS, founded in 1993, has two divisions, an independent adviser network and a capital markets business for institutional clients. It has 32 offices in 17 states and Puerto Rico.