In her new role as Indianapolis-based managing director at Crews & Associates, Susan Reed aims to bring both creative ideas and a deep well of experience to bear on the challenges facing Indiana issuers.
Reed, who has worked as a bond attorney and a municipal advisor and has served in a community and economic development role for a joint action public power utility, is well-versed in helping local political units issue debt.
“I’ve worked with cities, towns, counties and school districts in my prior roles, so it’s an extension of that, but [there’s also] the opportunity to see the whole transaction through to fruition,” she said of her new position. “[Crews is] a really solid firm, and anything that I’ve needed as far as resources for clients or just ideas, the whole team has been very supportive. It’s a great firm that brings additional resources to issuers locally.”
Crews & Associates
Michael Lambert, Crews & Associates’ head of national public finance, said in a statement that the firm is excited to grow its presence in Indiana.
“Public finance is an important part of our growth model, and Indiana is a great fit for Crews,” Lambert said. “With a focus on underwriting transactions, Susan will help us continue to grow and bring in new product for our firm. Crews has a long history of providing underwriting services to borrowers in our footprint states, as well as across the country. With Susan’s experience in the industry, cities, towns, counties, schools, and libraries in Indiana can now have another resource to utilize when issuing debt.”
A former president of the Mid-America Economic Development Council, Reed is an active member of Accelerate Indiana Municipalities, the Association of Counties, the Indiana Economic Development Association and Indiana Women in Public Finance. She is also a former chairperson of the East Central Indiana Regional Partnership and a former executive committee member for the Indiana Economic Development Association.
Before joining Crews, Reed spent eight years at Baker Tilly, according to her LinkedIn profile.
She is a registered municipal advisor and municipal advisor principal, and a licensed attorney in Indiana and South Carolina.
Reed earned her bachelor’s degree from Purdue University and her law degree from Indiana University’s Robert H. McKinney School of Law.
Over the years, Reed said, she’s learned the importance of listening to issuers’ objectives, whether they be favorable rates, the flexibility to refinance down the road or hitting certain timing goals, and building trust, so clients know “that you’re going to work hard to get the very best deal done for them that you can to really meet all their needs.”
In Indiana, she said, there are always challenges around financings supported by property taxes, with issuers facing pressure to show that it’s necessary to take on the debt they’re proposing. The state has seen significant growth recently — it
“There are a lot of restrictions already around a local government’s ability to borrow — particularly through property taxes,” she said. “I think that the restrictions right now are as restrictive as they need to be; there are a lot of things in place to make sure that property taxes are contained. Any additional restrictions, I think, would really limit the local’s ability to achieve projects in a cost-effective manner.”
Still, it’s a busy time for financings and there is ample opportunity for growth in Indiana, she said, adding that Crews is eager to work with local elected officials “who are really trying to think through how they want to shape their communities.”
“We have a wealth of really experienced industry leaders, and I think bringing Crews into this space will allow us to be creative and think about unique ways to support local governments and schools, where they can achieve these goals in a legal way, but also with some flexibility,” Reed said.