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Thomas O'Neill, who co-founded Sandler O'Neill & Partners LP in 1988 and led the firm through the tragic aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, spoke with SNL about his time at the firm and his new post at Ranieri Partners LLC.
O'Neill will serve as the head of two of Ranieri's financial services companies while also leading the investment committee of Ranieri Real Estate Partners, which is the firm's commercial real estate merchant bank.
The following is an edited transcript of the conversation.
SNL Financial: Why have you chosen to leave Sandler O'Neill right now?
O'Neill: I've been there from the beginning, 22 years, and have been doing this since 1972. I've done about everything I could do there. It has been a phenomenal experience and a wonderful place, but I'm not dead yet at 64 and have been interested in trying the other side of the business.
Ranieri is a pure merchant bank. So that was really the motivator. It was purely a time in my life when I thought it would be interesting to try something different, as I said I've been doing this for almost 40 years.
Before we discuss your new role at Ranieri, what will you remember as the biggest moments or achievements over the last 22 years at the firm?
First of all, it has been an amazing run. I can remember the first trade we did as a firm. Jimmy Dunne selling ARMs. Me at 115 Broadway with card tables, and you had to unplug the coffee pot to run the Xerox machine. I remember Chris Quackenbush, who started corporate finance and M&A. There are just so many things. The first conversion we did. The first M&A transaction we did. The first IPO and stock offering.
Clearly, the absolute horrific worst day of my entire life was Sept. 11. And the ability of people to come together as a group at a horrific time and keep the place going and not only that, look where we are today at 300-plus and 50 partners. That is probably one of the most remarkable things we've...