William Derrough

Derrough was born in San Francisco, California. He is the son of Graciela Yllescas Derrough[1][8] and Joseph Hoge Derrough.[8] His mother moved to California from Guatemala in the 1950s and became a licensed home day care operator and later, a teacher’s aide in public schools[2] in Novato, California. Derrough’s father worked for 35 years as a union carpenter in Marin County, California.[2]

Derrough attended public schools in Novato, California and achieved the rank of Eagle Scout, scouting's highest attainable rank, in 1980 at the age of 15. He received a four-year Navy ROTC college scholarship and was a midshipman in the United States Navy Reserve from 1983 until 1986. He served on active duty during the summers of 1984, 1985 and 1986, stationed at naval bases Pearl Harbor (HI), Coronado (CA) and San Diego (CA), respectively. He was prevented from receiving his officer's commission as a result of the U.S. Military's then ban on LGBT service members.

Derrough received a Bachelor of Arts in Soviet Studies from the University of California, Berkeley.[2]

Derrough began his investment banking career at Salomon Brothers as an analyst in corporate finance in 1989.[2]  In 1991 he joined Chanin & Company,[9][10][2] a boutique specialty investment banking firm in Los Angeles, where he spent seven years advising financially distressed businesses. Derrough was a principal at Doyle & Boissiere,[9] a private equity firm in San Francisco, from 1997-1998. In 1998, he joined Jefferies & Company to launch its Recapitalization & Restructuring business.[11][12][13][14]

Derrough and Thane W. Carlston joined Moelis & Company to start its Recapitalization & Restructuring business in July, 2008.[3][15][16][17] Under their leadership, Moelis’ Recapitalization & Restructuring team has executed over 400 engagements representing over $1 trillion in transaction value [18] and was named Restructuring Firm of the Year in 2019 and 2014 by London-based International Financing Review magazine.[19][20]

Among other notable transactions, Derrough was the lead banker to the Official Creditors Committee of American Airlines during its bankruptcy from 2012-2014 and was instrumental in helping drive the re-organization which involved merger with US Airways.[4][2]

Derrough was elected to a four-year term as Treasurer of the Democratic National on February 25, 2017 along with newly elected Chair Tom Perez, and was tasked with restructuring operations of the DNC.[2][7] Derrough’s principal areas of focus included updating the DNC’s internal finance, audit and accounting functions, improving relationships with its key lender and improving the transparency of DNC finances to its 447 voting members.

During this period, the DNC successfully rebuilt its operations, especially its data and tech[21] and its state level organization and mobilization capabilities, to support Democratic candidates running for office at all levels “up and down the ticket”. These efforts helped lead to successful electoral victories in November 2017 in Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial and state legislative races[22] and the December 2017 United States Senate special election in Alabama. Democrats gained control of the U.S. House of Representatives in November 2018.[23]

In August 2020, the Democratic National Committee nominated Joseph R. Biden, Jr. as its nominee for President of the United States and Kamala D. Harris as its nominee for Vice President.[24] Biden and Harris defeated incumbents Donald J. Trump and Michael Pence on November 6, 2020, winning more votes than any national ticket in history.[25]  As part of the 2020 presidential election process, the DNC raised $493 million, more than any year in its history.[26]  The previous record of $372 million was set in 2016 when Hillary Clinton was the nominee.[27]  The DNC ended the year with more cash on hand than at any time in its previous history.[28]

Derrough did not stand for re-election in January 2021 and was succeeded by Virginia McGregor.[29]

Derrough has been active in charitable and educational non-profit activities and has helped raise funds for various Democratic candidates running for office.[30][31][32] He has served on the boards of Lambda Legal, Maitri, National Pastoral Life Center, Boy Scouts of Greater New York, Bennington College, Youth, Inc., Academy of St. Joseph, among others.

In 2008, Derrough married Alvaro Salas in a civil ceremony at San Francisco City Hall officiated by former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown; they have two children.[2]