2023 Monitor Top Women in Equipment Finance: Latisha Stephens, Commercial Capital Company

Latisha Stephens, Director of Operations, Commercial Capital Company

When Latisha Stephens joined Commercial Capital Company in 2018, she was an executive assistant to Mitch Rice, the owner of Commercial Capital. During her time as executive assistant, Stephens realized that successful businesses are founded on the needs of people, and for a business such as Commercial Capital to enjoy success, it needed to identify areas of improvement. As an agent of change, Stephens quickly grew beyond the narrow definition of executive assistant by effectively identifying inefficiencies and solving problems within the company.

From overseeing the customer care team to reorganizing the documentation department, Stephens has fostered an innate talent at trouble-shooting and fine-tuning business processes for efficiency and effectiveness. She managed the documentation department during a period of leadership change while maintaining her responsibility for the director of operations and human resources roles. While growing the department, Stephens hired and trained four new documentation specialists. The documentation department has since become an integral and successful part of Commercial Capital, and her steady and strong leadership has helped the company achieve and surpass its goals year after year.

Stephens understands how to build highly functional teams, which makes cross-departmental management viable for her. She has exercised many of her team-building and training skills through Commercial Capital as the company has made the transition from a non-web-based CRM to a modern CRM with numerous cloud-based features. She has even assisted in growing the company from 18 employees to 42 in the past five years. She has led teams to adopt new technology and embrace change as Commercial Capital continues to evolve.

“Quality control is so critical for a company’s success,” Stephens says. “When you get it right, it’s reflected not only in our customer’s satisfaction but our employees as well.”

Stephens is a team player and a handson leader who leads by example. She is a respected member of Commercial Capital’s team, always willing to jump in and assist other departments to help them achieve their goals. She also boosts morale by enthusiastically encouraging her team and treating everyone with respect.

“Latisha’s enthusiasm and collaborative approach makes her the perfect person to mentor co-workers when new processes come online,” Mitch Rice, owner of Commercial Capital Company, says. “She aligns so well with the mission of our core values by fostering personal and professional growth of everyone in our organization. This enables our company to provide the best service to our customers every day.”

Stephens also plays a key role in Commercial Capital’s response to an ever-evolving, technological landscape. Technology never sleeps and, faced with constant change, Stephens assists in identifying outdated practices, evaluating new technological solutions and integrating them into new and existing systems. Stephens believes it is not just technological integration that breeds success, but that the cultural integration of new technology ensures new processes practically work day-in, day-out.

As the company continues to grow, Stephens is well positioned to meet the ever-changing needs of Commercial Capital with her highly collaborative and cross-functional approach to working with stakeholders. “The company is in a great position for continued growth because of her efforts at enhancing the customer experience,” Rice says.

“With innovative technology solutions, we have positioned ourselves as an industry leader by empowering our associates to create seamless and positive customer experiences, every day. Our attention to detail enables our clients achieve their financial goals.”