CDC Small Business Finance Receives Two Top Honors as SBA Business Development Officers of the Year

September 22, 2022 (Arlington, VA and San Diego, CA) – Two longtime CDC Small Business Finance business development officers have been recognized as the best in the nation by The Coleman Report, a leading banking publication that annually honors the best in small business lending practices.

Stacey Sanchez and Ken Rosenthal were two of just five people to be named “BDO of the Year” by The Coleman Report. The awards will be presented to Sanchez and Rosenthal at the Small Business Administration (SBA) Business Development Officer Summit on October 5 in Arizona.

Sanchez and Rosenthal’s awards are a nod to their commitment to creating more opportunities for the small business community. As part of the Momentus Capital family of organizations, CDC Small Business is expanding on its tradition of providing financial capital — by providing a continuum of capital, including knowledge and social capital — to help local leaders build communities and create generational wealth.

Stacey Sanchez: “A True Client Advocate Who Sees the Possibility in People”

Sanchez has worked in SBA lending for 25 years. She joined CDC Small Business Finance in 2003 and has consistently been a high-performing team member. Sanchez is known for her outstanding service to entrepreneurs seeking to grow their businesses with an SBA loan; these loans help investments flow into communities by providing people with access to the capital and opportunities they deserve. Her primary focus is financing small businesses in California, Arizona, and Nevada, as well as the Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Washington, D.C., metropolitan areas.

“Stacey is a true client advocate,” said Susan Lamping, vice president of sales for CDC Small Business Finance and Sanchez’s direct supervisor for the past decade. “Stacey takes the time to understand the client’s situation, goes to bat for them when no one else will, and makes a legitimate case for why we should lend to them. She looks beyond their credit score, beyond their bankruptcy, and beyond the situations in their life that may have set them back. She sees the possibility in people and has excellent instincts to know which borrowers are truly ready for her level of advocacy.”

In 2021 alone, Sanchez spoke to more than 400 small business owners one-on-one and helped fund 48 of them. Of those 48 borrowers, 38 of them received SBA Community Advantage loans, a key tool that prioritizes access to capital for borrowers with low-to-moderate incomes.

“We’re making a difference for quality borrowers who just don’t meet the standard qualifications for a typical bank loan,” Sanchez says. “Each loan is somebody’s life. The people I’m helping are working hard. And I work hard on their behalf to help them achieve their dreams. It’s very fulfilling. I feel like I really am making a difference in individual lives and communities.”

Ken Rosenthal: Dedicated, Tenacious, and Incredibly Accessible to Clients in Six Time Zones

Rosenthal has worked in SBA lending for more than three decades and joined CDC Small Business Finance about 32 years ago as a retail commercial SBA 504 loan officer. He moved to the wholesale side of the business 12 years ago, working as the sole business development officer for its subsidiary CDC Capital Markets. He has a nationwide focus for the wholesale SBA 504 1st mortgage program.

“Dealing with every community bank, credit union, certified development company, small business lending company, and non-bank lender in the country is a monumental task, but Ken handles it with tenacity,” said Tony Barengo, senior vice president, credit manager, for CDC Small Business Finance. Barengo is Rosenthal’s direct supervisor. “Ken is extremely dedicated to his clients and works tirelessly to get deals done. His responsiveness is unbelievable. His feedback and counsel on deals is near immediate, which is amazing considering his territory. He works through six time zones with a lot of travel to conferences all across the country nearly monthly to be accessible to his clients. His dedication is tireless, and his knowledge of his program is epic.”

Rosenthal generates approximately $50 million a year in business. That means that in his tenure with CDC, he has generated more than 1,000 loans totaling more than $1 billion.

“It’s nice to be recognized for the hard work I’ve been putting in for 32 years to help businesses grow, create jobs and improve our economy,” Rosenthal says. “I’ve worked both directly with entrepreneurs earlier in my career and now am able to assist lenders so that they, too, can help small businesses.”