Jennifer Palmer

President, Gerber Finance

Biography:

Jennifer joined Gerber in 2006 as a business development and marketing associate. 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.

Jennifer’s 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.

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.

In 2013, Jennifer was appointed president of Gerber Finance. She is both the youngest and the first female president in the firm’s 20-year history.  Jennifer was a recipient of the SFNET’s Inaugural 40 Under 40 awards in 2016.

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

Own your gender, but don’t let it define you or allow it to create limitations for you. You should aim to be the best in class, not the best woman in class. Female or male, in order to be successful, you must be hungry to learn at each stage of your career, but also be patient.  Keep in mind that success doesn’t happen overnight and you need to learn the basics in order to master the fundamentals.   Think of your career as a marathon and not a race – instead of focusing on being first out of the gate, focus on consistently improving your performance and coming in strong at the finish line. 

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

There is no black-and-white definition of success. When I first started out in this industry, the definition of success for me was very one-dimensional – it was all about my career and reaching those traditional goals in the industry. As I matured, I realized job satisfaction and meaningful relationships with colleagues are even more important than the traditional milestones like pay increases and titles. Then, when I started a family I learned that personal success is just as important as professional success and for me, personally, I have found that the two are not mutually exclusive. We would probably all agree that, when we are dealing with a stressful situation at work, it is hard not to bring it home. Likewise, for me and no doubt many women, if things are not running smoothly at home, I cannot be my best in the boardroom.

If you start your career ensuring that you are surrounding yourself with good people and meaningful work, stellar job performance and job satisfaction will naturally follow -- you will also build a support system to help you overcome life’s professional and personal hurdles.

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

Nobody reaches the top without advice, guidance and mentorship. For me, having a mentor has been key to helping me successfully navigate our competitive field. Being a woman in a male-dominated industry is certainly not without its challenges, so it’s important to watch and learn from your successful counterparts, no matter their gender.  I have been lucky to have both male and female mentors, all of whom have taught me lessons that have been immensely helpful in my career.   The key to finding the value in a mentor is brutal honesty in your communications -- if you don’t allow yourself to be vulnerable, you will never get the advice and feedback you really need.

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

As employers, we must look to minimize the challenges women face in our industry. Maintaining a career in this industry as a woman can be challenging, particularly if you’re looking to start a family. You  can only successfully balance your career in our industry and family if you have an employer willing to provide you with flexibility in your schedule when needed.  Paid maternity leave is the first opportunity to do this.  The small private companies in our industry cannot wait to implement paid maternity leave policies until they think they need them or because they think they cannot afford them. If they wait to take action they will lose their female talent without knowing why and the costs to replace these key executives will cost much more than an appropriate paid leave benefit.  When a woman comes back from leave, flextime is an important benefit an employer can provide to allow women to advance their careers while also having a family.  In addition to vastly helping the employee and her family, flextime has consistently been proven to boost morale and productivity, which then increases retention – again directly improving the employer’s bottom line.