How Fifth Third's Kala Gibson Drives Impactful Urban Entrepreneurship
Black Enterprise|Fall 2019
As executive vice president and head of business Banking for Fifth Third Bank, Kala Gibson focuses on helping small businesses gain the resources necessary for them to continue to drive employment, innovation, and impact.
Derek T. Dingle
How Fifth Third's Kala Gibson Drives Impactful Urban Entrepreneurship

In doing so, the financial services veteran has served as a catalytic force for what he describes as “urban entrepreneurship.”

Simply put, he seeks to transform small enterprises into growth companies.

Although he may serve a small business clientele, Gibson manages a massive portfolio. He oversees strategy, sales, product development, credit fulfillment, and operations for one of the Cincinnati-based institution’s largest divisions. As such, Gibson guides his team to handle the needs of companies with annual revenues up to $20 million—a cluster he says that ranges from “mom-and-pops up to the fast-growing tech companies”—across more than 1,100 banking centers in 10 states.

One of the nation’s preeminent leaders in business banking, Gibson is best suited to lead Fifth Third’s charge in this area. The Detroit native is a graduate of Grand Valley State University and Michigan State University’s Eli Broad College of Business, gaining intimate knowledge of the needs of entrepreneurs with his 13-year stint with Comerica and more than six years with Fifth Third.

He holds a boundless passion for banking, dating back to his love of Monopoly at the age of 7. He was imbued with the spirit of service, however, when he noticed as a youngster that “banks and business left my community and then we started to see the decline. I saw that and said, ‘Hey, I want to fix that.’ So, as a child, I actually [declared], ‘This is my purpose in life.’”

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der Fall 2019-Ausgabe von Black Enterprise.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der Fall 2019-Ausgabe von Black Enterprise.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

WEITERE ARTIKEL AUS BLACK ENTERPRISEAlle anzeigen
Great Leaders Aren't Born, They're Made
Black Enterprise

Great Leaders Aren't Born, They're Made

Former Aetna CEO Ron Williams shares his decades of leadership lessons in his new book

time-read
6 Minuten  |
Fall 2019
How Fifth Third's Kala Gibson Drives Impactful Urban Entrepreneurship
Black Enterprise

How Fifth Third's Kala Gibson Drives Impactful Urban Entrepreneurship

As executive vice president and head of business Banking for Fifth Third Bank, Kala Gibson focuses on helping small businesses gain the resources necessary for them to continue to drive employment, innovation, and impact.

time-read
6 Minuten  |
Fall 2019
I Want to Be a Triple Threat
Black Enterprise

I Want to Be a Triple Threat

I always loved Papa John's. I was introduced to it in ’89 in Baton Rouge Louisiana when I didn’t have a lot of money but I had enough money for a big ol’ Shaqaroni pizza—sausage, pepperoni, extra cheese.

time-read
2 Minuten  |
Fall 2019
This Young, Black Aerodynamics Engineer Is Rebooting Classics At General Motors
Black Enterprise

This Young, Black Aerodynamics Engineer Is Rebooting Classics At General Motors

THE CHEVY BLAZER HAS GOTTEN A MAKEOVER IN 2019.

time-read
2 Minuten  |
Fall 2019
This Dell Exec Took A Leap, And Landed At SVP
Black Enterprise

This Dell Exec Took A Leap, And Landed At SVP

NAJUMA ATKINSON HAS BUILT A 20-YEAR CAREER AT DELL TECHNOLOGIES Inc.

time-read
2 Minuten  |
Fall 2019
Power In The Boardroom
Black Enterprise

Power In The Boardroom

EXPANDING BLACK REPRESENTATION IN THE BOARDROOM AND THE C-SUITE REQUIRES ADVOCACY, STRATEGY, AND POSSIBLY, LEGISLATION. TO MEMBERS OF OUR B.E. REGISTRY OF CORPORATE DIRECTORS, HOWEVER, THE DETERMINING FACTOR COMES DOWN TO LEADERSHIP.

time-read
10+ Minuten  |
Fall 2019
Has History Met Your Badass?
Black Enterprise

Has History Met Your Badass?

If black women don’t assert power and their place in history, everybody loses

time-read
7 Minuten  |
January/March 2019
A Crash Course In Success
Black Enterprise

A Crash Course In Success

Damian Mills’ strategic leadership, talented team, and knack for turning crises into Lucrative Opportunities turned his mega-dealership into an unstoppable force

time-read
8 Minuten  |
Summer 2019
Growing Together
Black Enterprise

Growing Together

How strategic alliances between major corporations and african american businesses and organizations can serve as models for economic and social advancement

time-read
10+ Minuten  |
Summer 2019
The 4H Club
Black Enterprise

The 4H Club

ICV partners has attracted millions in capital, built a portfolio of high-return companies, and diversified private equity by following its core values of staying humble, hard working, honest, and hungry

time-read
10 Minuten  |
Summer 2019