President

Eric Van Standifer is founder and President of Blaylock Van, LLC (BV), the nation’s oldest continuously operated African American owned investment bank. A 40-year veteran of the banking industry, he leads a seasoned team of professionals who provide a diversified platform of global financial services including equity sales and trading, fixed-income sales and trading, capital markets, and municipal underwriting. The firm has developed transactional relationships with some of the largest corporations and governments worldwide.

Mr. Standifer originally founded Robert Van Securities, BV’s predecessor, in 1991. Robert Van Securities was highly regarded for its technologically driven trading capabilities. In 2007, the firm merged with Blaylock & Co., then one of Wall Street’s most successful minority-owned investment banks, renowned for its capital markets franchise.

BV is currently headquartered in New York City and Oakland, with other offices in Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, Columbus, and Miami. Prior to launching BV, Mr. Standifer worked as a high net worth advisor for Merrill Lynch and Sutro & Co. for over a decade. He is a Certified Public Accountant, a General Securities Principal, Registered Municipal Principal, and a Registered Options Principal.

Committed to community service, Mr. Standifer supports the efforts of a variety of foundations through service and financial contributions. He is presently on the National Board of buildOn, whose mission is to break the cycle of poverty, illiteracy and low expectations through service and education. buildOn mobilizes youth in American cities to transform their communities through service-based learning and to change the world by building schools in developing countries.