Laura Kemper Glass

Senior Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager, Bank of America Business Capital

Biography:

Laura Kemper Glass is senior vice president and senior portfolio manager for Bank of America Business Capital (BABC) covering the Eastern United States and Europe. Laura is the primary point of contact facilitating the close working relationship between BABC’s asset-based lending and the bank’s Global Commercial Banking and Global Corporate & Investment Banking teams.

Laura is passionate about diversity and inclusion in the workplace and served on the Global Commercial Banking Diversity & Inclusion Council for five years, including as council chair in 2016. She is also the Executive Sponsor for recruiting at the University of Georgia and a member of the Atlanta Leadership Team for the bank.

Laura began her career in public accounting and spent nine years with the inter- national accounting firm, KPMG, serving as senior manager. She joined Bank of America in 1995 as a senior underwriter responsible for underwriting new business transactions. In 1998, she joined the portfolio management team of BABC.

Laura earned a bachelor degree in accounting from Florida State University. She was a CPA and is a FINRA Registered Principal with Series 7, 24 and 63 securities licenses. She resides in Atlanta, GA, with her husband and two sons.

What advice would you offer to women just starting out in the industry?

Be curious and don’t be afraid to ask questions. College will not adequately prepare you for everything you need to know to be a commercial lender, but I often hear that young colleagues are reluctant to ask questions as they feel they should already know the answers. It’s ok not to know everything at first. I would advise women just starting out to view your job as an investment in yourself, and try to learn as much as possible from veteran lenders.

Don’t be afraid to ask why things are done certain ways or what other options could have been considered for a particular situation. Also, pose these same questions to multiple people. It will be helpful to hear different points of view on a topic as there is rarely just one right answer.

What do you know now that you wish you knew in the beginning of your career?

That it’s ok to be bold and to go aggressively after your career goals. In my early career, I thought that all I needed to do was be good at my job and opportunities would come my way. I see others, young and not so young, do the same thing today. If a great job opens up, why do so many people hold back in the hopes that the hiring manager will ask them to apply for it? I now wish I had been more bold and courageous and sought out stretch assignments or raised my hand for more promotions along the way.

What kind of role has mentoring and/or sponsorship played in your career?

I have had numerous informal mentors over the years and believe they have been extremely important to my career. The biggest thing I’ve learned is that they often had more confidence in my abilities than I did. They helped me realize my potential and were instrumental in my success. Whether formal or informal, mentors can play an important role to help you see meaningful movement in your career progression. Formal mentors can be valuable in helping you navigate your organization or industry and expand your network. Strong informal mentors form naturally and often rise to the level of sponsor.

What do you think the industry could do to attract and retain the best and the brightest today?

First, we must create an environment that respects diversity and inclusion and prove that commitment to the next generation of commercial lenders. In order to do that, we need women leaders participating in recruiting activities on college campuses and other industry events to show young women that they can grow and prosper in our industry.

Also, in order to retain our top talent, we have to make it easier for women to balance their home and work lives without sacrificing their ability to climb the corporate ladder. When my children were born, Bank of America allowed me to work part-time for eight years. I cherished that extra time with my family, and it made me extremely loyal to my employer. Recently, the bank expanded maternity and paternity leave for new parents to four months. This support for families demonstrates the bank’s commitment to working parents and help to make it a great place to work.