Kim Buttemer, a longtime stalwart of disenfranchised communities and promoting economic development for all, serves as chief operating officer of CDC Small Business Finance.

Buttemer has long believed CDC Small Business Finance’s success as a leading mission-based lender centers on its commitment to small business entrepreneurs — especially when they need us the most. This mindful strategy has allowed the organization to ‘do good’ for the thriving communities we serve while operating as a sustainable business. For Buttemer, this dual approach comes naturally, as she’s carved out an industry niche in making a difference while promoting smart economic growth

As chief operating officer, Buttemer handles day-to-day oversight, strategic planning, policy development and project management for a non-profit with a $2 billion loan portfolio. She also manages loan production and post-funding operations and the execution of confidential initiatives.

Under her leadership, Buttemer played an integral role in:

• Growing from an 80-loan-a-year firm to the nation’s most active SBA 504 and Community Advantage lender yielding more than $20 million in annual revenue.
• Recognizing the 2008 financial crisis as an opportunity to reconnect with existing borrowers struggling to stay afloat. Our compassion and flexibility helped save hundreds of companies from business and loan default.
• Locating and securing a 36,000-square-foot corporate headquarters in Point Loma’s Liberty Station, a mixed-use redevelopment project that previously served as the Naval Training Center San Diego.
• Creating the Lab to test and nurture innovative products to meet the evolving needs of small business owners. The Lab is both a physical space and a philosophy to foster broad collaboration. It pulls together stakeholders from directly and indirectly related functions to build new products and services.

In her two-plus decades at CDC Small Business Finance, Buttemer has served a number of leadership roles including director of administration and senior vice president.

Before joining CDC Small Business Finance, she served as founding partner of a consulting firm that helped U.S. companies expand to Asia. During those four years, she gained invaluable insights into the hard-won successes and challenges of being a small business owner — experience that has guided her decisions as a community lender.

Prior to that, Buttemer worked as vice president of the San Diego Economic Development Corporation, where she focused heavily on attracting technology and manufacturing firms to San Diego.

Buttemer is married with two young adult children.

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in public administration and public relations/communications from San Diego State University, graduated with honors

Community involvement:

• On the advisory board for Self-Help Federal Credit Union, a San Diego credit union designed to provide high-impact financial services to working-class communities.
  Board Secretary, Prudent Lenders
• Volunteer, Mission Committee and Elder for La Jolla Presbyterian Church