Mark Whitaker is a Managing Director in Mesirow Institutional Sales and Trading.  He is the head of municipal research, focusing on high yield securities. 

Mark has 14 years of financial markets experience, and ten years in municipal credit research. Prior to joining Mesirow, Mark was a municipal bond research analyst at Northern Trust Asset Management.  Mark has been a speaker and panelist at multiple industry conferences including Debtwire, KBRA, InvestorTools and NFMA covering topics such as municipality distress, security structures and healthcare.

Mark earned a BS in Finance and Business Education from Illinois State University. He is a CFA® charterholder and holds FINRA Series 7, 63 and 52 licenses.  Mark is a member of the National Federation of Municipal Analysts, the CFA Society of Chicago, and is a board member of the Chicago Municipal Analyst Society.  Mark serves as a consultant for Metropolitan Family Services, a Chicago based not for profit.  He also served as a volunteer varsity football coach in Chicago Public Schools.