Bob Corker joins the board of Jeffries investment firm as a special adviser

Former U. S. Sen. Bob Corker has joined the New York investment firm of Jefferies Group LLC as a special adviser working with the firm’s Investment Banking business.

Corker, a 68- year- old former real estate developer, Tennessee state finance director and Chattanooga mayor, retired from the U.S. Senate after 12 years in January 2019 after serving as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a member of the Senate Banking Committee. Since returning to his home town, Corker has worked directly with a handful of Tennessee companies and made other investments in growing and startup ventures.

“Bob’s successful business and entrepreneurial background, coupled with his nearly 20 years of local, state and federal service, uniquely qualify him to help us drive the future of Jefferies,” Rich Handler, CEO of Jefferies, and Brian Friedman, Jeffries’ president, said in a joint statement Wednesday. “We know his skills, insights, experience, perspective, and relationships will bring an entirely new and exciting dimension to our investment banking franchise and our entire firm.”

Corker founded his own company at the age of 25 and built Bencor Construction into a major building and development firm with operations in 18 states before selling the business in the 1990s. Since retiring from the Senate last year, Corker said he has tried to focus on businesses where he can make a difference and use his background and skills most successfully.

Last week, the Chattanooga health care management company One to One Health announced that Corker has been named company chairman and Corker said he is currently working with a couple of other Chattanooga firms. But the new job at Jefferies will be his biggest current job.

Jefferies Group LLC is the largest independent, global, full-service investment banking firm headquartered in the U.S. and has grown since its start in 1962 to a company with about 4,800 employees, sales of more than $6 billion last year and a market capitalization of more than $5 billion.

“The f irm’s sector-based approach, coupled with a relentless focus on delivering unique solutions for clients, were key drivers for my decision to join Jefferies, and I look forward to helping advance the firm to a new level.” Corker said. “This is a way for me to have an impact with a firm that has global reach and certainly punches beyond its weight.”

Jefferies Group LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Jefferies Financial Group Inc.