Jennifer Palmer

President, Gerber Finance

40 Under 40 Category: Business Development

Biography:

Jennifer joined Gerber in 2006 as a business development and marketing associate charged with cultivating new relationships with companies that would benefit from financing with Gerber. As a recent law school graduate who had intended on working in art or fashion, she did not expect to work in finance, but was hungry for an entrepreneurial venture where she could truly make her mark.

As a novice in the industry, she relied on her enterprising nature and creative thinking as she set out to learn every aspect of the business. Her intense interest in the people and drive behind small-business success proved to be an incredible guide, and she quickly rose to the role of vice president of business development, where she set an aggressive growth strategy for Gerber’s portfolio.

As Jennifer brought new deals to the table, Gerber began to rely on her legal experience to streamline the documentation process while reducing clients’ costs and appointed her senior vice president and in-house counsel. As she managed both business development and legal, she dove deeper into the inner workings of Gerber’s operations and emerged with a clear picture of where the business needed to be as a whole in order to be more competitive in the face of a changing environment.

In 2013, having spearheaded the healthy and steady growth of Gerber’s portfolio and having expanded the firm’s geographic footprint to the West Coast, New England and Canada, Jennifer was appointed president of Gerber Finance to further drive and grow the business. She is both the youngest and the first female president in the firm’s 20-year history. In the last fiscal year, Jennifer was responsible for increasing the firm’s ABL portfolio by 66 percent, a stunning achievement she credits to the ambition and expertise of her cross-functional team. As she continues to focus on big-picture growth for the Gerber portfolio, she retains her enthusiasm for working with entrepreneurs, noting that it is the unexpected nature of the business that drives her every day.

Jennifer carries that passion for the unexpected at home as she raises three daughters (Neave – age 6, Keeley – age 4, Claire- age 2) with her husband, Andrew. As a curious explorer and lover of art and interior design, Jennifer loves to travel, especially to ski destinations where she can share her love of the sport with her family.

Jennifer holds a J.D. from Fordham Law and a B.A. from Marist College. She is very active in the industry, serving on various committees including the Board of Directors of the Commercial Finance Association.

When informed she was one of the SFNet 40 Under 40 recipients, Jennifer replied, “It’s a thrilling time within our industry as we are continuously challenged to be more flexible, more creative and more innovative at every turn. It’s an honor to be recognized among a generation of lenders that is helping to shape what’s next as we drive our clients’ businesses forward.”

Her nominator, Gerald Joseph, CEO of Gerber Finance, said, “Jenn has a need to really understand her clients’ businesses, and she works hard to always successfully achieve this. This, in and of itself, is appreciated by her clients, but to Jenn, it is not just about business. It is so much more about the people.”