ELEMENT 22 COMMERCIAL - Key Persons
Kenny Leonard has been in commercial banking for over 15 years and in executive management at financial institutions, in various capacities, for 8 of those years. In 2009 he earned his MBA in Management from the Haworth College of Business at Western Michigan University. Mr. Leonard has been recognized as Corp! Magazine's Millennial of the Year and Credit Union Journals Trailblazer Executive Lender of the Year. He has put his education to work serving clients by opening the west Michigan office for one of the largest Small Business Administration processors in the country. Kenny was instrumental in the creation and expansion of what became one of the largest SBA lending community banks in Michigan, created and lead the Great Lakes Region for one of the nation's largest SBA lenders, and created and expanded the Commercial Banking, Treasury Management, Small Business and Private Banking divisions at one of the state's largest credit unions. Leonard drove growth and increased revenue through his commitment to borrowers, a collaborative team approach, and prudent strategic lending practices.
Through regional expansion and introduction of novel lending products including government guaranteed lending (SBA and USDA), small business divisions, private banking services, and treasury management, he offered solutions and products to meet the needs of his clients while ensuring the profitable growth of his organizations. Leonard's lending philosophy is to focus on the story behind the numbers. Every business has a story and the numbers are only a part of that story. Kenny sees his client relationships as a chance to roll up his sleeves and dive in to advising, executing and supporting their endeavors.
Leonard also serves on the finance committee for Habitat for Humanity and has previously been a volunteer on boards or committees for the YMCA, Kalamazoo Rotary, The Adventure Centre at Pretty Lake, Greater Southwest Chapter of Credit Unions, and the Michigan Credit Union League.
In his spare time Leonard enjoys traveling with his family. Leonard also enjoys golfing, attending auto racing events, baseball and football games, and playing tennis. At home you will often find him hanging out by the pool or gardening.
Ryan has 15 years of commercial banking experience with a proven track record of high-volume generation of safe and sound commercial loans. Mr. Reffitt holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from St. Joseph College (Indiana), with a minor in Business Management and was most recently the Director of Commercial Banking for a mid-sized Michigan based credit union. At this financial institution, he was integral in the establishment and growth of a new Member Business Lending department. Over 4 years, he and a small team established a commercial loan portfolio of nearly $60 Million.
Prior to his time at the Credit Union, Reffitt was employed by a Michigan-based community bank as a Commercial Loan Officer and successfully completed the Michigan Bankers Association Commercial Lending School. He has long worked on developing positive relationships with borrowers, brokers, and participating partner CUs and Banks, increasing loan volume substantially. In his last role, this generated $1MM in non-interest income in just a twelve-month time span.
Reffitt strives to create mutually beneficial relationships when it comes to commercial lending and implementing solutions that benefit all parties involved. At the same time Mr. Reffitt uncovers and mitigates risks not only to the lender, but also to the individual business owners with whom he works with. He is a big believer in a lender's role as a "trusted advisor" to the success of the overall business community.
In his spare time Reffitt enjoys exploring different Michigan towns and beaches with his family. He is an avid skier/snowboarder in the winter and has also been known to frequent a golf course or two. He has served on the Board of Directors for The Southwest Michigan Professional Network and The Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan in Kalamazoo and has been involved in the local Rotary club.