Beth Limpert

SVP, U.S. Bank Asset Based Finance

Beth Limpert is a senior vice president, leading a team of portfolio managers   serving middle-market borrowers for U.S. Bank Asset Based Finance.  Her career in the asset-based finance business spans 37 years, beginning as a trainee in The First National Bank of Chicago’s start-up asset-based lending group.  After 17 years, she joined an asset-based client – a manufacturer with 22 plants – providing financial/strategic planning and analysis.  She returned to lending in 2008 at U.S. Bank and has been enjoying applying what she learned from her unique experience on the other side of the table.  In addition to managing a portfolio team at U.S. Bank, Beth coordinates training for the ABF group, serves on the financial statement spreading advisory group, and is involved in several initiatives to improve operational efficiency.  She founded the Women’s Forum of the SFNet Twin Cities chapter and is an active member.

Beth has a bachelor’s degree in piano performance from Lawrence University and an MBA from the Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management.  She is a certified public accountant, a chartered financial analyst, and is an active taekwondo practitioner with a second-degree black belt.

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

Attend educational and networking events, volunteer for special assignments, continuously upgrade your skills, and be honest with, but not too hard on, yourself.  Seek role models and help others shine.  If you see someone in a position that interests you, set up an informational interview and learn how that person prepared for their position.

What role has mentoring played in your career?  

My first mentor was my manager for 17 years, a man who taught me to trust my intuition, harness my analytical abilities, and be aware that it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it.  He showed me by his actions what a leader is, and he believed in me before I believed in myself.  It was a struggle in the early days of my career to find women role models who were already established, since there were so few.  However, my several women peers who started in the industry around the same time became my source of support and advice.  We served as each other’s sounding boards, told each other the truth, and grew together as we learned the industry.  I vowed early on that I would never turn away a person who came to me for guidance, advice, and leadership.  I have found that the best way to learn something is to teach it to someone else.  Most of my experiences as a mentor have been informal – some short-lived and some lasting many years.  It is always exciting to help another person discover and develop his or her strengths and leverage them to build a satisfying career.

What do you enjoy most about your role? 

It’s all about the people.  Often when my family asks me about my day, I recount how much I enjoyed spending time with a beloved customer.  There is nothing like walking through a plant with the smell of machine oil or cardboard packaging and the sound of machinery to remind me how important our loan facilities are to our customers’ employees and families.  When asked what I do for work, I tell people I help provide the capital that keeps the economy running.  I also enjoy the everyday interactions with my team members and colleagues.

How can commercial finance organizations attract and retain more women?  

We need to spread the word that there are many interesting roles for different skill sets.  Many women who have been in the industry for a long time started as trainees in operations, moved to field exam and progressed either to leadership roles in those areas, or to portfolio management, underwriting, or business development.  I encourage all employees to attend SFNet or other industry networking and educational events to broaden their skill sets and get a sense of their own organization’s role within the industry.  It is important to give employees constructive feedback on their work and encourage skill development so they will be prepared for job openings.  I encourage everyone to seek a mentor and be a mentor.  Both roles lead to valuable insights into a person’s own path.  Finally, helping an employee to navigate a major life change, such as the birth of a child, goes a long way toward building loyalty and retention.  Many women in senior roles, including me, asked for flexibility at some point in their career, and their managers were astute enough to work with them through life transitions.