Two Decades of Empowering Independent Physicians

As we approach the end of our 20th year in business, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on CMAC's journey and share the story of how we’ve grown into the company we are today.

In 2004, I announced to my wife, Diane, that our future together would now include one retired husband. Tears welled in her eyes. Wow, I thought, this has overjoyed her, and she's thinking about all the time we'll now spend together in our home in Winter Park, FL. Well, I was right on that second part. Those forthcoming tears were not of joy but of anxiety. It was something like, “Greg, we have now had 40 glorious years of marriage. Why mess up something that has gone so well?” I’m not kidding. Even today after 60 years of marriage, when people ask Diane the secret to our union’s longevity, she replies, “He travels.” And so CMAC Partners was born.

Rather than some long-winded article detailing our history, I thought a few highlights and some pictures would be far more entertaining. It sounds better in the third person, so here we go.

2004 – 2006

Greg Warren is introduced to a loan officer at AmSouth Bank who had pulled together 22 clients to create a single borrower under a Variable Rate Demand Bond (VRDB) using letters of credit – a less expensive way to borrow. He attempts to emulate this remarkable scenario but fails miserably and can’t even bring two borrowers together. Greg then meets Peter “The Messiah” Allport of Wachovia Bank who advocates the same VRDB structure on a one-off basis. Voila, CMAC’s in business.

CMAC stands for Capital Markets Access Company (mystery solved!) because the bonds were auctioned in the capital markets.

Initially, CMAC had no idea it was headed towards a focus in healthcare until Greg visited his cardiologist for an annual checkup. A simple “how’d you finance your building” turned into CMAC’s first closing.

Greg is then introduced to Shannon Stocker. A recent medical school graduate unable to move forward in medicine because of her own health challenges, Shannon teams with Greg and the road to physician-owned real estate is set.

Soon after, Liz Allport, a commercial loan officer who previously worked at Bank of New York on Wall Street and is currently on a kid-raising hiatus, joins the team. Liz brings the experience, the knowledge, and the whip! CMAC finally starts to operate like a business.

Steve Pishko, a University of Florida graduate comes on board and the team is complete. Steve eventually leaves to form his own company but the original three are still a part of CMAC’s fabric 20 years later.

2007 – 2018

The 2008 economic upheaval renders the bond market illiquid and seems to signal CMAC’s demise. Instead, CMAC creates an additional revenue stream assisting borrowers to negotiate and execute interest rate swaps through a division know as Swap Negotiators. This effort was so successful that it not only kept the doors open but brought CMAC an unexpected 15 minutes of fame when the New York Times featured Swap Negotiators as the headline in its Sunday Business section.

Steady growth followed as word of mouth brought new clients across the United States.

2017 - 2023

The “newbies” come in and take CMAC to the next level. CMAC’s role as physician advocates expands into real estate structuring and optimizing the profitability and sustainability of those entities.

James Winchester and Chris Tollinchi emerge as the next-generation leaders.

2024

The majority of the CMAC Partners ownership is acquired by its employees. Buckle up for what should be one helluva ride to the next level!!

Stay connected with our team!

Greg Warren, Managing Partner
James Winchester, Principal
Chris Tollinchi, Principal, Director of Finance
Liz Allport, Executive Vice of Finance
Ha Tran, Principal, Finance Project Manager
Shannon Stocker, Physician Liaison
Grant Blackhurst, Principal, Senior Financial Analyst
Mariela Araujo, Principal, Senior Financial Analyst
Peter Kokins, Principal, Director of Business Development
Elizabeth Cvercko, Principal, Director of Marketing
Jasmine Garcia, Marketing & Administrative Coordinator