Mohamed Balla is the Chief Financial Officer for the City of Atlanta. He joined the City in 2011 and assumed the role of CFO in July 2021. As CFO, Balla provides financial guidance to the Mayor and City Council and manages a team of 160 finance, accounting, and business professionals. He is responsible for overseeing the preparation, evaluation, and monitoring of the City’s $2.75 billion operating budget and financing the City’s $11.5 billion capital improvement program. Additionally, Balla serves as a Trustee on the City’s Pension Investment Board, managing investments for the General, Police, and Fire Pension Funds. Prior to serving as CFO for the City of Atlanta, Mohamed was the Deputy Commissioner and CFO for the Department of Watershed Management (DWM), where he led the department’s financial functions. Before that, he was a key member of the City’s pension reform team, responsible for restructuring the City’s $3 billion pension plan. He also served as the City’s Cash and Investment Manager, overseeing the City’s $2.0 billion cash portfolio. CFO Balla has a background in investment banking, corporate finance, and public finance, with over 20 years of experience. He has a strong background in financial modeling and analysis, leveraged lending, and public finance. He has worked at Citigroup Corporate and Investment Bank and Wachovia Securities as an investment banking professional. He holds a B.A. in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from Morehouse College and an M.B.A. from the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. Mr. Balla is a member of Leadership Atlanta’s Class of 2023. He currently resides in Southwest Atlanta with his wife, Teresa, and their two daughters, Eden and Ava.

Bernard Bailey is a Managing Director, Public Finance at Assured Guaranty with a primary focus on maintaining and expanding Assured Guaranty’s institutional client base. During his career spanning more than 35 year, including both the public finance banking and sales and trading areas of municipal finance, Mr. Bailey has held senior positions at major dealer firms with the majority of his career spent at Bear Stearns. While at Bear Stearns he covered major municipal institutional accounts including fund groups, insurance companies and asset managers as well as hedge fund and distressed debt platforms. Mr. Bailey is a frequent speaker and panelist on all matters related to the municipal bond industry including insurance, high yield fixed income and ESG. He sits on the Philanthropic and ESG committees at Assured. Mr. Bailey is a member of the Bond Club of New York and the Municipal Bond Club of New York. He is a graduate of the University of Georgia.

WireSafe is a software security platform that protects financial wire transfer instructions from cyber threats. Trusted by banks, financial institutions, businesses, and government agencies, WireSafe safeguards against sophisticated fraud attempts to alter wire instructions for the transfer of funds at closing.

S&P Global Ratings, a division of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE: SPGI), is a leader in providing credit ratings insight for the public and not-for-profit sectors. Our public finance analysts provide a deep understanding of markets with sector-specific experience. Learn how our perspective can help you make better-informed financing decisions. Visit spglobal.com/uspublicfinance

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U.S. Bank is a valued service provider for a broad range of corporate and municipal financings in addition to a wide variety of escrow services.  Their experienced professionals understand the complexities of these transactions and use their expertise and the latest technology available to exceed each customers individual needs and fulfill their expectations for timeliness and accuracy.  Experience their support services and make U.S. Bank your provider of choice.

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Oppenheimer is a global financial institution offering Wealth Management, Capital Markets, and Investment Banking solutions. We have been providing customized strategies centered on the goals of our clients since 1881 — using our extensive experience, resources, research, and knowledge to help advance society, improve our communities, and leave the world a better place.