Phylis Esposito, part of Artemis' founding circle, to join Bear Stearns as senior managing director.

Phylis M. Esposito a founding member of the woman-owned firm of Artemis Capital Group Inc., will join the municipal bond department at Bear, Stearns & Co. in January as a senior managing director.

Esposito will report to Daniel L. Keating, senior managing director and head of the municipal bond department.

Esposito was a principal at Artemis from the creation of the firm in 1990 until her departure in August of this year. Her duties included the underwriting of taxable and tax-exempt fixed-income products.

Before founding Artemis, Esposito was employed for 10 years at Goldman, Sachs & Co. as a vice president in the municipal bond department.

At Goldman, Esposito was very active in the short-term sector. She said she would remain active in all areas of municipal finance.

"I think it's safe to say that I'll be active in all types of financings, including derivatives," she said. "I have long admired the work of Bear Steams as a high-quality and talented team."

Esposito founded Artemis with five other women, including four former Goldman Sachs executives - Robin L. Wiessmann, Aimee S. Brown, Deborah A. Buresh, and Roberta B. Connolly. Former Citibank executive Sandra A. Alworth was also a principal founder.

Only Wiessmann, Brown, and Alworth are still employed at Artemis.

Esposito severed her ties with Artemis in August after a reported dispute among the principals over management decisions. She said her decision to leave was "just part of the typical moving around in the industry."

Esposito is a graduate of Fordham University and earned a master's degree from the Columbia Graduate School of Business.

"Phylis brings a unique combination of experience in both trading and banking which will complement the growth we have had over the past several years," Bear Steams' Keating said.

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