Stifel Adds Two Biopharma Investment Bankers, Enhancing Premier Healthcare Franchise

ST. LOUIS, Dec. 04, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE: SF) today announced two senior hires in its Investment Banking Group. Sean Cessna joins as Managing Director and Titus Phoro joins as Director. Both are based in San Francisco and will lead Stifel’s West Coast efforts in the burgeoning biopharma space.

“The addition of experienced bankers like Sean and Titus is part of our ongoing commitment to building a leading healthcare investment banking franchise,” said Mark Dempster, Co-Head of Healthcare Investment Banking at Stifel. “Biopharma has been, and continues to be, one of our strongest sectors and is an area where we believe there is still tremendous opportunity to continue growing our business,” added Declan Quirke, Co-Head of Healthcare Investment Banking at Stifel. “We are very pleased to have Sean and Titus join the team.”

Sean Cessna has more than 20 years of experience in investment banking with a primary focus on biopharmaceutical companies. Prior to joining Stifel, Mr. Cessna was Head of Healthcare Investment Banking at JMP Securities LLC overseeing the biopharmaceutical, medical device, healthcare services, and healthcare IT practices. Before joining JMP in 2011, he was a senior calling officer focused on life sciences companies in the healthcare investment banking team at Piper Jaffray and a member of the healthcare investment banking team at RBC Capital Markets. Earlier, Mr. Cessna worked in the investment banking group at Lehman Brothers and the mergers & acquisitions group at the Geneva Corporate Finance division of Citigroup. Mr. Cessna received an MBA from the University of Michigan and a B.S. in finance from the University of Oregon.

Titus Phoro also joins Stifel from JMP, where he was a Director in the firm’s healthcare investment banking group working with both public and private biopharma companies. A registered pharmacist, Dr. Phoro has also held positions in the healthcare investment banking groups at RBC Capital Markets and Jefferies & Company. He holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Texas Southern University.

“Helping emerging growth companies realize their goals is in Stifel’s DNA,” said Mr. Cessna. “Stifel provides a best-in-class platform for us to serve clients with broad advisory and capital-raising capabilities, and we’re happy to join the team.”

Earlier this year, Stifel hired Senior Analysts Paul Matteis from Leerink and Derek Archila from Oppenheimer to augment the firm’s equity research coverage of the biotechnology sector. Melissa Scott also joined the firm from Morgan Stanley as a dedicated equity sales specialist focused on biotechnology companies.

Since 2010, Stifel’s Healthcare Investment Banking Group has executed more than 300 capital markets transactions, raising more than $32 billion for our clients. In that same timeframe, the group has also advised on 66 merger, acquisition, collaboration and strategic transactions representing approximately $13 billion in aggregate disclosed deal value. 

Stifel Company Information

Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE: SF) is a financial services holding company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, that conducts its banking, securities, and financial services business through several wholly owned subsidiaries.  Stifel’s broker-dealer clients are served in the United States through Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, including its Eaton Partners business division; Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc.; Miller Buckfire & Co., LLC; Century Securities Associates, Inc., and in the United Kingdom and Europe through Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited.  The Company’s broker-dealer affiliates provide securities brokerage, investment banking, trading, investment advisory, and related financial services to individual investors, professional money managers, businesses, and municipalities.  Stifel Bank and Stifel Bank & Trust offer a full range of consumer and commercial lending solutions.  Stifel Trust Company, N.A. and Stifel Trust Company Delaware, N.A. offer trust and related services.  To learn more about Stifel, please visit the Company’s website at

Media Contact

Neil Shapiro, (212) 271-3447

Investor Relations Contact

Joel Jeffrey, (212) 271-3610