Grasshopper, the client-first digital bank built for the business and innovation economy, today announced the addition of numerous strategic hires to its lending team. As a forward-thinking digital bank, Grasshopper has spent the last three years redefining the banking experience for small- and medium-sized business (SMBs), startups, financial technology (fintech) companies, and the venture capital and private equity community. Recognized for its award-winning digital banking solutions, the Bank has set a new standard for seamless, tech-driven depository banking. 

Now, Grasshopper is making its next strategic move – expanding and digitizing its lending operations in 2025. This includes strengthening its Small Business Administration (SBA) lending program, introducing new small business loan options for SMB clients, entering the consumer lending market through its proposed acquisition of Auto Club Trust (ACT), and leveraging cutting-edge technology and AI-driven solutions to streamline processes.  

In conjunction with this digitization effort, Grasshopper has recently welcomed several new team members to help drive the success of these lending programs:

• Steve Kerr, Chief Credit Officer: With 25 years of experience in credit and risk management, Kerr possesses deep expertise in commercial and specialty finance, ensuring sound credit decisions that support sustainable growth. His background includes developing advanced credit modeling and risk assessment frameworks, having built proprietary machine learning-driven credit decision algorithms at 5^C Credit/Lassen Capital and led loan recovery and loss given default modeling at Standard & Poor’s. He previously served as Regional Chief Credit Officer at Bank Luemi USA and Head of U.S. Credit Risk Management & Restructuring at Scotiabank. 
• Dawn Gillette, Head of Digital Lending: Gillette brings over 20 years of experience in fintech leadership, most recently serving as Senior Vice President at NBT Bank, leading the bank’s national residential solar and speciality lending businesses, and previously as Chief Financial Officer at Direct Capital Corporation. She also served on the boards of  Sungage Financial, Stratyfy, Inc. and Mendon Venture Partners. 
• Brennan Quenneville, Head of SBA Lending: Quenneville brings over 12 years of experience in commercial finance, with a focus on SBA, USDA, and renewable energy project finance. He previously led underwriting teams at Pathward, National Association.
• Andrew Simon, Head of SBA Digital Lending: Simon brings a wealth of experience in business development and digital strategy, having led transformative initiatives at Velocity SBA, Exos, Lendistry, and Ready Capital.
• David Menoian, SBA National Sales Manager: Menoian, with over 10 years of experience in SBA and USDA lending, brings strong acumen in renewable energy finance and credit management. He most recently served as Senior Managing Director, Business Development at Pathward.
• Justin Whitson, Business Development Officer: Whitson, a seasoned business development professional with a decade of experience in commercial finance, previously held a key role at Pathward and will be instrumental in expanding the bank’s lending reach and strengthening client relationships. 

“Investing in top talent and cutting-edge technology has been one of the biggest drivers of Grasshopper’s success,” said Mike Butler, President & CEO at Grasshopper. “Expanding our capabilities and digitizing the lending process will further cement our position as a leading digital bank, and we look forward to continuing to deliver innovative, frictionless experiences to our clients.”