Congratulations to our Board member Karen Brown who received the Innovation Leadership Excellence Award as one of the San Fernando Valley’s top trusted advisors!
Karen has served on the Board since 2014 and also uses her innovation and leadership skills as part of our Fund Development Committee and as the Chair of our Builder’s Ball Committee. She continues to lead the Builder’s Ball Committee in coming up with new and creative ways to make each year’s gala bigger and more successful than the previous year’s. She leads with a confident grace, contributes knowledgeably to Board discussions, and even volunteers on our construction site.
Having already gone Over the Edge, and rappelled down the Universal Hilton in support of our veterans, she is volunteering her husband to do so this year! Karen is a proactive and passionate Board member and we can’t think of anybody more deserving of this award.
“Karen Brown is a senior banking officer who has enjoyed 30 years in commercial lending and finance to middle market companies in the greater Los Angeles area. She has worked with a wide variety of clients in numerous industries at various stages of development, to help grow their business. As SVP and Unit Lead, she also oversees a team of relationship managers for First Bank and assists where needed for the group’s entire client relationship portfolio.
“Brown is often called upon when a CEO, CFO, or business owner of a privately held company reaches out to one of their Centers of Influence in which CPAs, attorneys, insurance brokers, and consultants may assist them with meeting an identified finance need. Working together with these Centers of Influence, Brown meets with the client and provides insightful reviews of their commercial banking of finance needs. This may include innovative loan structuring, borrowing capacity, pricing, regulatory concerns, or service-related issues with their current banking arrangement.
“Part of Brown’s success in her profession surely stems from her education and early career, which emphasized innovative solutions to client needs. After graduating from California State University with a BS in Public Administration, Karen spent several years as a senior auditor and collateral manager and in various senior management positions for mid- to large-sized institutions including City National Bank, California United Bank, US Bank, and Pacific Western Bank. In July 2014, she joined First Bank as SVP Team Lead of the San Fernando Valley Regional Office in Woodland Hills.” –San Fernando Valley Business Journal, August 20, 2018.