For Jill McKean-Bilby, mentorship has been a game changer. From the earliest days of her career, mentorship has afforded her opportunities for growth and exploration within her industry. Ultimately, her well-rounded background empowers her to serve in the role she holds today as president leading a business unit within BOK Financial Equipment Finance.

While McKean-Bilby has helped lead portfolio growth of 25% this year, she says she is most proud of the way her team has grown, developed and risen to the occasion under her leadership. In the end, her ability to mentor her team and help them identify clearly defined career paths and a future with the bank has filled her with pride. McKean-Bilby says helping team members establish and achieve goals they’ve set out for themselves is a way to reinvest in a growing industry she continues to be invested in.

Such is the legacy that McKean-Bilby hopes to create with her career, as she also strives to form a place where people can thrive in their careers in the equipment finance space and give back to the industry and customers. Mentoring, having regular one-on-one’s and staying connected with women in the industry outside of BOK Financial have helped McKean-Bilby promote inclusion on her own team and advocate for women to grow within the industry.

McKean-Bilby was selected by industry colleagues to serve on the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association’s Bank Business Council Steering Committee to represent bank and finance companies. As a member of the committee, she has regular conversations with students about equipment finance, creating awareness of the industry and allowing students to envision a professional future they may not have otherwise known was possible.

McKean-Bilby is also an advocate for other industry associations, serving as an active member of such organizations as Associated General Contractors, the National Utility Contractors’ Association, the Texas Trucking Association, the Neuro Assistance Foundation, the Neeley Board of Advisors for Texas Christian University’s business school and the Construction Finance Managers Association.

Within BOK Financial, McKean-Bilby’s team’s mission is simple: to strive to provide the highest quality leasing products available in the market. The team seeks to accomplish this ongoing mission by building long-term relationships with a focus on educating team members and customers on creative and progressive leasing trends while adhering to the BOK Financial culture.

“Jill’s knowledge, her collaborative spirit and her tireless effort to provide solutions to our customers and prospects benefits our organization on a daily basis,” Martin Brown, senior vice president and director of commercial finance at BOK Financial and McKean-Bilby’s manager, says. “She also delivers this same vigor to her community, which inspires all of us to follow in her footsteps.”

McKean-Bilby’s advice to younger women in the industry is: “Buckle down, stay professional and work hard. Find mentors within and outside of your organization that you can lean on and grow with. Don’t be afraid to say you don’t know, but take the initiative to find the answers so you know going forward and can help others. Be a resource. And last, but not least, don’t forget to have fun.”