Diana Hoadley

Diana Hoadley guided clients through shocks like 9/11 and the 2008 financial crisis, but it was her ability to see beyond the deal of the moment that stayed with people long after they worked with her.

“The advice I would give clients over the years was more focused on their long-term perspective, and not just on, ‘could I win the next bond deal,'” said Hoadley, who specializes in higher education, healthcare and nonprofits. “The most important thing for me was making sure I could always look myself in the mirror and feel like I had given objective advice to my clients that they could count on.”

Hoadley earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Princeton University and, after a stint at Forbes magazine, her MBA in finance from New York University.

She launched her finance career at Kidder, Peabody & Co. before moving to Dillon, Read & Co. Later she became the first woman promoted to managing director in public finance at JPMorgan, where she worked from 1997 until 2015, when she joined Goldman Sachs. 

Hoadley helped found Northeast Women in Public Finance and is “really proud of where that organization has gone,” she said.

“She was very well-recognized by clients as a thought leader in the higher education sector,” said Laura Powell, co-head of the higher education group at Jefferies. “She was focused on covering the client from a variety of angles.”

Powell remains struck by Hoadley’s “genuine enjoyment of the job and interest in her clients,” and how she nurtured talent.

“She has left such a profound impact on people and on the places she’s worked,” said Robert Feigenson, executive director at Morgan Stanley, who began his career as an intern for Hoadley. 

Chapman Grumbles, managing director and head of higher education and nonprofits at Ramirez & Co., said clients love Hoadley. 

“I can literally drive around the country and think about the different projects that we’ve worked on over the years,” he said. “It’s a long list of colleges, universities, museums, foundations, nonprofits.” 

Early on, Hoadley created some of the first rating agency medians for healthcare entities. She went on to shepherd Quinnipiac University and Fairfield University through expansions; help Emmanuel College become co-ed; and enable Vanderbilt University to go to need-blind admissions through a multibillion-dollar royalty monetization. 

She did the first benchmark-sized Build America Bond transaction for the University of Virginia and helped Washington University in St. Louis redesign its campus.

Hoadley enabled the U.S. Tennis Association to expand its National Tennis Center campus and finance the addition of a roof over Arthur Ashe Stadium. With the Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, she pioneered a donation agreement format adopted by museums nationwide.

She helped finance the building of the Getty Center museum campus in Los Angeles and guided multiple medical research organizations in creating credits to support research institutes, among many other achievements.

“I found her to be the most innovative, creative problem solver you could encounter,” said Suzanne Beitel, chief financial officer at Seattle Children’s Hospital, who noted Hoadley balanced work with raising three sons.

“She worked fiercely on behalf of her clients,” Beitel said. “She would just plow through walls.”

Eileen Heitzler, partner at Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe, said Hoadley understood deeply “who the not-for-profit borrower is … what’s their story?”

Hoadley had a “tremendous” impact, said Terry Hull, associate vice chancellor for finance and treasurer at the University of Texas.

“What I remember most is the strong teams she built,” he said. “Her team members are now leading higher education groups at other firms; it’s a testament to her leadership and mentorship.”

Beth Veasey, vice president for business affairs and CFO at Marist University, said, “She was always at the forefront of developments at that intersection” of public finance and higher ed.

Hoadley also kept a cool head. 

“Her careful hand about how to maintain business continuity in the weeks following (9/11), but also the compassion and the personal touch that she had … really demonstrated her singular leadership,” said Feigenson.

Hoadley is again looking to the future. After leaving Goldman in 2024, she’s mulling her next chapter.

“I’ve really enjoyed being an investment banker, but now I’m focused on working for one of my clients” in the nonprofit sector or in state or local government, she said. “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do.”