Leadership Team
Ziegler is proud to have a strong leadership team of professionals with extensive industry experience. Read the professional backgrounds of Ziegler's key leaders below:
- Tom Paprocki
- Don Carlson
- Ben DeBerry
- Gary Engle
- Leslie Lynch
- Chuck O'Meara
- Scott Roberts
- Mark Baumgartner
- Jeff Vredenbregt
- Elizabeth Watkins
| Tom Paprocki - Chief Executive Officer200 South Wacker Drive Phone: 800.366.8899 |
.jpg "Tom Paprocki Pic")
"We truly put ourselves on the same side of the table as our clients - trusted financial advisor is our inspiration and where we've shined versus our competition."
Tom Paprocki is Chief Executive Officer of The Ziegler Companies, Inc., a multi-faceted boutique investment firm that serves the fields of healthcare, senior living, religion and education. He is also a member of the Ziegler Board of Directors. Ziegler has successfully provided capital, corporate finance, money management and financial advice to individuals and institutions for over a century. In his role, Tom supervises the overall operations of the company, with an emphasis on strategy, client relationships and business plan execution. Prior to being named Chief Executive Officer, Tom was President of The Ziegler Companies, Inc. and responsible for the Capital Markets and Wealth Management businesses, as well as Marketing Communications, Services & Technology and Human Resources. He joined Ziegler in 1997 as a Senior Vice President, overseeing taxable bond trading activities.
Tom previously served as President of the Huntington Capital Group, a subsidiary of Huntington Bancshares. Prior to that, he was a Senior Vice President, Head of Bond Trading and Fixed Income Research at Robert W. Baird & Co., Inc.
Tom headed Ziegler's business planning team in 2000 and has been instrumental in creating the firm's current long-term business plan. He holds a B.S. in business administration and a M.S. in economics from Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI.
.jpg "Don Carlson Portrait(2)") | Don Carlson - Vice Chairman200 South Wacker Drive Phone: 800.366.8899 |
Don Carlson is Vice Chairman of Ziegler. Prior to being named Vice Chairman, Don was a Senior Managing Director and the Head of Ziegler Capital Markets. He also is a member of the Ziegler Company's Board of Directors and Executive Committee. In more than 30 years with Ziegler, he has been directly involved in all phases of financing healthcare organizations throughout the nation.
Throughout Don's career, he has developed many innovative financing structures for a variety of healthcare providers and has extensive experience in both the structuring and distribution of tax-exempt and taxable securities. In recent years, he has devoted much of his time to providing strategic and capital advisory services with many of his healthcare clients. His clients include both large and multi-state healthcare systems, as well as independent free-standing hospitals.
In 2002, Modern Healthcare identified Don as one of the 100 most powerful people in the healthcare industry and he was the only investment banker on the list.
Don received a B.B.A. degree in economics and finance and an M.B.A. from Loyola University in New Orleans, Louisiana. He serves on the Executive Committee of the Healthcare Financing Study Group and serves as Chairperson of the Healthcare Finance Forum and several other industry associations. Don is a frequent speaker at many healthcare related conferences.
 | Ben DeBerry - General Counsel & Corporate Secretary200 South Wacker Drive |
Ben DeBerry is Senior Managing Director and Ziegler's General Counsel. He joined Ziegler in 2007 bringing experience in pubic finance, venture capital and general securities law.
Formerly, Ben was Senior Counsel for Motorola, Inc.'s networks and enterprise business. Prior to that, he practiced with Chicago and California law firms representing and counseling emerging growth companies, venture capitalists, investment banks, boards of trustees and municipal issuers. Prior to practicing law, he was a financial analyst for a California Fortune 100 bank.
He is currently Vice President of the Rush University Medical Center Associate Board in Chicago.
Ben graduated from the University of Michigan Law School and holds an B.A. in English literature from Drake University.
 | Gary Engle, CPA - Finance & Research200 South Wacker Drive |
"Ours is the most fascinating, dynamic and rewarding industry I can imagine. At Ziegler, not only do we get to work in this exciting environment, but we have the satisfaction of helping others as we do."
Gary Engle is a Senior Managing Director with Ziegler. In his role, Gary is responsible for research and finance. He joined Ziegler in April 1999, bringing with him a strong background in finance, accounting, investment banking and asset management.
Gary started his career as a staff accountant at Arthur Andersen. He spent 17 years with Robert W. Baird & Co., Inc. where he garnered broad experience serving as the Director of Fixed Income Research, as a First Vice President of Investment Banking and as the Chief Financial officer. Prior to joining Ziegler, he was the Chief Financial Officer of Trust and Investments at Firstar Corp. in Milwaukee.
Gary holds an M.B.A from the University of Wisconsin - Madison and a B.B.A. from the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee.
 | Leslie Lynch - Marketing Communications & Human Resources200 South Wacker Drive |
"Our associates are tied by a common mission... to serve clients who serve others. We do it with our firm's core values front and center - our clients, our shareholders, our associates, integrity, teamwork and innovation."
Leslie Lynch is Ziegler's Senior Managing Director of Marketing Communications and Human Resources. As a human resources and marketing practitioner, her background is rather unique. She brings expertise from leading HR functions, supporting marketing functions, as well as experience "carrying a bag" as a sales professional in the financial services sector.
Prior to joining Ziegler, Leslie was the president of an entrepreneurial, professional development firm, which provided education and training to the financial services industry. Her HR leadership experience was developed during her many years at Strong Capital Management, as well as an earlier experience in the healthcare sector.
Leslie has her M.S. in administration from Central Michigan University and her B.S. in business administration and biology from Adrian College. She holds securities license designations of Series 7 and 66.
 | Chuck O'Meara - Private Equity200 South Wacker Drive |
Chuck O'Meara became Senior Managing Director of Ziegler's private equity practice in 2006. In this capacity, he is responsible for the oversight and development of the firm’s venture capital strategy, which focuses on the healthcare industry.
Prior to this position, Chuck was General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of The Ziegler Companies, Inc. and its subsidiaries from 1993 to 2006. He also served as the firm’s Risk Management Officer. In these capacities, he supervised the legal and compliance support functions for substantially all business units of the firm and oversaw the firm’s risk management processes.
In 2005 and 2006, Chuck was instrumental in forming Ziegler Meditech Equity Partners, LP, a $52 million venture capital fund investing globally in mid- to late-stage companies with new medical device technology. Chuck serves as a Managing Director of the Fund’s General Partner.
Chuck received an A.B. from the University of Notre Dame and his J.D. from Marquette University Law School.
 | Scott Roberts - Asset Management200 South Wacker Drive |
Scott A. Roberts serves as Senior Managing Director and Head of Asset Management for Ziegler. Scott has more than 20 years of investment experience. Prior to joining Ziegler, he was president and CIO of Deerfield Capital Management and responsible for all investment management, marketing and operational activities of the firm. He oversaw the growth of assets under management at Deerfield from less than 400mm in 2000 to over 15B at the end of 2007. Prior to joining Deerfield Capital, Scott was CIO at several Zurich Insurance Company subsidiaries including Scudder Kemper Investments, Zurich Investment Management and CentreRe. Prior to Zurich, Scott was the director of fixed income for Loomis Sayles in Milwaukee. Prior to Loomis Sayles, he was a senior vice president and portfolio manager for Putnam Investments.
Scott has served on the board of directors of several of the firms with which he has worked, including Centre Cat, Centre Investment Services, Zurich Investment Management, Liberty Hampshire and Deerfield Capital. Scott served as chairman of the Investment Committee of Deerfield Triarc Capital Corp from 2004 through 2006.
Scott received an M.B.A. in finance and investments from the Applied Security Analysis Program at the University of Wisconsin and a B.S. in accounting and finance from Marquette University.
| Mark Baumgartner - Senior Managing Director & Chief Credit Officer200 South Wacker Drive |
.jpg "Mark Baumgartner Pic")
Mark Baumgartner is a Senior Managing Director and acts as Ziegler's Chief Credit Officer. He joined Ziegler in 1984. His investment banking activities have included mergers, acquisitions and financial advisory work as well as tax-exempt and taxable financings on a fixed variable or blended interest rate basis. He has senior managed more than 150 public debt offerings in excess of $5 billion. Mark has also had the opportunity to work on numerous strategic advisory transactions for healthcare providers involved in merging, acquiring or partnering with other healthcare entities. He is responsible for the review of all non-rated transactions underwritten by the firm in addition to being responsible for Ziegler's healthcare real estate team, which purchases medical office buildings, ambulatory surgery centers and diagnostic facilities across the United States.
Mark is a member of the Healthcare Financial Management Association and has authored many articles on healthcare related topics. Mark has lectured to a variety of audiences including the Medical Group Management Association and Healthcare Financial Management Association.
Mark earned earned a B.B.A. in finance from the University of Notre Dame.
 | Jeffrey C. Vredenbregt, CPA - Chief Financial Officer200 South Wacker Drive |
"At Ziegler, the level of service and the desire to get it right is something that is important each and every associate."
Jeff Vredenbregt is a Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer with Ziegler. He oversees financial accounting, external financial reporting and treasury functions and its related private equity entities. He is the FINRA Financial and Operations Principal for Ziegler's broker dealer subsidiary, B.C. Ziegler and Company.
Prior to joining Ziegler, Jeff was in public accounting at Arthur Andersen LLP. He joined Ziegler in 1987 as Corporate Controller and has been promoted and appointed to various officer positions within Ziegler and its subsidiaries. In 2004, he was appointed Chief Financial Officer for The Ziegler Companies, Inc.
Jeff is a graduate the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee where he earned a B.B.A. and M.B.A. He is a member of both the American and Wisconsin Institutes of Certified Public Accountants and the Institute of Management Accountants.
| Elizabeth A. Watkins - Chief Risk & Compliance Officer200 South Wacker Drive |
Elizabeth (Liz) Watkins is a Senior Managing Director and Ziegler's Chief Risk & Compliance Officer. She joined Ziegler in November 2003 bringing with her a business-minded approach to the firm's regulatory compliance, risk management, and internal audit programs. Liz is responsible for firm-wide compliance oversight and for the development and implementation of an audit and monitoring program to ensure compliance with applicable laws/regulations. Additionally, Liz works closely with the businesses to develop policies and procedures designed to prevent and detect unlawful activity, while supporting the needs of business.
Liz has nearly 25 years of experience in the financial services industry in marketing, brokerage and trading operations, and compliance, having held various management positions at independent and boutique financial services and investment management firms. She is focused on providing business units with regulatory guidance and in maintaining a client-centric, proactive, risk management program.
Liz is a graduate of Northern Illinois University and holds various securities licenses including the Series 4, 7, 24, 53, and 66. She is a member of the Security Industry Financial Market Association’s Compliance and Legal Division and various Compliance networking groups in the Midwest and spepks regularly on the use and integration of risk management techniques within a compliance program.