After helping grow a small leasing company into a billion-dollar business over the course of 20 years, Jennifer Wirth was ready for a career change in 2018. Her timing couldn’t have been better, as the founders of Verdant Commercial Capital approached Wirth about joining the company that year, which just happened to be within its first 12 months in business. Wirth, who had worked with Verdant’s founders and other team members at an equipment finance industry startup in 1997, knew taking the calculated risk to join the firm could be a dream opportunity, so she left the structure of the banking industry to become of Verdant’s first 10 employees.

“It felt like a big leap, but it was also comfortable. I dove into Verdant like I did with the startup Information Leasing Corporation [with] a lot of blood, sweat and tears,” Wirth says. “It was also fun for me to help build everything from the ground up.”

When Wirth came on board at Verdant, she was reunited with colleagues who possessed the same drive and passion she remembered from 1997 with Information Leasing Corporation. She spent her first four years as Verdant’s senior program manager and documentation specialist, helping to create the company’s form documents, hire staff members, work with outside funding partners and collaborate with teams to streamline processes.

Today, Wirth serves as the company’s vice president of operations. In this role, she pursues strategic and innovative ways of conducting business. She oversees the documentation team, collaborates within the company and continuously refines processes through technology. According to Wirth, the typical turnaround time for setting up vendor partners in the equipment finance industry is usually counted in months, but Wirth’s team can convert these transactions in a week.

With more than 25 years in the equipment finance industry, Wirth has a wealth of knowledge that she is able to share with the Verdant team. She’s a proponent of leadership through teaching, showing compassion and challenging others to ask questions and seek answers,

“I’m excited for the growth of women in the industry,” Wirth says. “The number of women who have joined the industry over the past two decades has been a welcomed addition. My simple advice: The next opportunity is waiting and out there for you; don’t be afraid to take the risk and welcome the reward.”

“Jennifer Wirth possesses an intrinsic quality of leadership that has enabled her, through her teams, to repeatedly deliver superior results for each equipment finance company with whom she has worked throughout her career,” John Merritt, executive vice president at Verdant Commercial Capital, says. “This natural leadership ability, coupled with native intelligence and vast experience across the spectrum of equipment finance operations, makes Jennifer an indispensable part of Verdant’s leadership team, both on a day-to day tactical level and as a contributor to our strategic thinking.”

Wirth is passionate about the power of listening and advocating for her team, whether they are colleagues with 20 years of industry experience or newcomers just getting started.

“My career is exciting and rewarding,” Wirth says, “l hope to be able to continue to pass on my knowledge to the next generation of equipment leasing professionals for many years.”