Anita Colvin started her career at U.S. Bank 25 years ago as a part-time bank teller. By maintaining strong performance in this initial role, Colvin earned multiple promotions within the bank, including her first leadership role as assistant branch manager. Colvin didn’t stop there, as she would continue to rise the corporate ladder at the bank over the next two decades, leading to several leadership positions in the bank’s consumer and business banking divisions, including branch manager, district manager and business banking sales manager. Then, six years ago, Colvin took a leap of faith and transitioned to the bank’s equipment finance team, where she became the director of sales for its small-ticket group, which generally deals with transactions below $1 million.

Colvin took her next step in her career journey in early 2021, when she became the head of U.S. Bank Equipment Finance’s manufacturing vendor services and the first female general manager in the sales organization at the bank. In this role, she leads a team of highly experienced finance professionals who have more than 300 years of combined experience serving the manufacturing equipment industry and its clients.

Throughout her many leadership roles, including her current one, Colvin has embraced the concept that great leaders don’t need to have all the answers, they just need to ask great questions.

“I’m sure my team would tell you I ask a lot of questions. We are continually evaluating new and better ways to serve our clients, gain operational efficiencies and elevate our performance,” Colvin says.

Colvin is passionate about business development and building strong, mutually beneficial relationships with both clients and prospects as well as internal team members. Over the past year, given extended equipment lead times, the rising interest rate environment and extended economic uncertainty, Colvin and her team have remained agile and innovative in their mission to continue exceeding client expectations. Although the workplace changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic have helped the equipment finance industry advance and adopt the use of digital tools such as video conferencing, Colvin is excited to be back in the market, connecting with her team and key partners one on one.

Colvin is an active advocate for several professional organizations. She serves as the treasurer on the Women in Manufacturing Oregon Chapter Board, an organization focused on supporting, promoting and inspiring women in the manufacturing industry. She is also currently a member of the U.S. Bank Women’s Business Resource Group and an active mentor in both the internship and MentorConnect programs at U.S. Bank.

“Anita is a rising star in our organization and brings a fair, fearless, focused and forward-thinking leadership style to her job every single day. She has a very bright future in our industry and truly deserves this recognition,” Dave Verkinderen, senior vice president and head of vendor markets for U.S. Bank Equipment Finance, says