Jen Kempton believes the best outcomes are achieved by speaking less and listening more, and the most effective leaders are able to build a capable team that works together to support a common cause. Solution-oriented in nature, Kempton fosters an environment that encourages input from all team members, empowering them to find solutions, make good decisions and gain a sense of accomplishment that furthers their ambitions.

Kempton has spent the majority of her career in credit roles, but when she accepted a business development officer position at CIBC Bank USA covering the Midwest in early 2022, she began leveraging her deep professional relationships and strong credit background to create unique funding solutions for clients who may otherwise struggle with traditional structures.

In 2010, she was one of six professionals asked to join a newly formed asset-based lending group at The PrivateBank (now CIBC Bank USA). Today, that group is comprised of 30 professionals and is the asset-based lending group at CIBC Bank USA. Outside of her work at the bank, Kempton is active in the overall asset-based lending industry and her community. In 2017, she was recognized as one of Secured Finance Network’s “40 Under 40” and she has served as treasurer, vice president and president of SFNet’s Midwest chapter. In addition, she has been actively involved with Big Sisters of Metropolitan Chicago, mentoring four “little sisters” through high school and into college. Although she became involved with the organization to pay her own mentee experiences forward in some small way, she says she underestimated how positively these four young women would impact her own personal development.