Our Leadership Team
David Burton
PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
David Burton has almost 30 years of experience in all aspects of the accounts receivable management industry. He founded Jefferson Capital in 2002. Prior to that he was Group President of OSI Education Services, Inc., a subsidiary of Outsourcing Solutions, Inc. (OSI), the nation’s largest accounts receivable management service provider. David entered the accounts receivable industry in 1992 when he joined A.M. Miller & Associates, Inc., eventually becoming its President and COO. Throughout his career, David has built industry-leading companies that provide innovative solutions for clients and consumers while maintaining a reputation for professionalism, integrity, and best-in-class compliance. David earned a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan School of Business Administration with a concentration in Finance and Law.
Paul Dunn
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
Paul Dunn joined Jefferson Capital in 2012 with over 30 years of broad finance experience. Before joining Jefferson Capital, Paul served as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Value Options, a $900 million healthcare company with 3,000 employees in 23 locations that served over 30 million individuals. Prior to that, he served in a variety of financial roles for both public and private manufacturing and service businesses. As CFO, he currently oversees Jefferson Capital’s finance and treasury teams located in Minneapolis, St. Cloud, Denver, and Basingstoke, U.K. His work includes providing strategic and business planning, managing merger and acquisition activities, leading all banking and financing relationships, engaging in change management, and managing the company’s cost improvement initiatives. Paul holds B.A., M.A., and M.B.A. degrees from the University of Virginia, and is a Certified Public Accountant. He is also a member of the Illinois Society of Certified Public Accountants.
Matt Pfohl
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL COUNSEL
Matt Pfohl joined Jefferson Capital in 2015 and has over 25 years of legal experience. After several years as a criminal prosecutor and civil litigator, he served as General Counsel for five years for a national hospitality company. He then spent seven years in private practice with a Minneapolis law firm, before becoming Vice President-Compliance and General Counsel for a national auto sales and finance organization with a significant consumer financial services component. Matt is licensed to practice law in the State of Minnesota, and is a member of the Fourth District Ethics Committee for the State of Minnesota Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility. He has been certified as a Consumer Credit Compliance Professional by NAFA. He holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Notre Dame, a J.D. from Loyola University of Chicago, and received a Certificate in Franchise Management from the M.B.A. program at the University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business.
Penny Campbell
VICE PRESIDENT, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Penny Campbell has over 31 years of operations management and sales leadership experience in the consumer financial services industry, including 14 years of experience with a national retail consumer goods and financing company. Penny joined Jefferson Capital in 2002 as Manager of its external recovery operations and since that time has held a variety of operational and business development roles within the company. This includes oversight of internal call center operations as well as leadership of both its client services and marketing teams. She currently leads Jefferson Capital’s business development team, identifying solutions for new clients and managing existing client relationships across all lines of business. Penny holds two degrees from St. Cloud Business College.
Mark Zellmann
DIRECTOR OF DEBT COLLECTION ACQUISITIONS AND OPERATIONS
Mark Zellmann has over 15 years experience with Jefferson Capital, having joined the company in 2004. He currently leads the company’s data sciences team and oversees the Debt Collections business line. His duties include the management and leadership of Pricing Analytics & Underwriting, Portfolio Management, and Collections Operations. Mark holds a B.A. from the University of Minnesota and an M.B.A. from St. Cloud State University. Mark also earned a Certified Management Accountant designation from the Institute of Management Accountants in 2011.
Tom Hofer
DIRECTOR OF BANKRUPTCY ACQUISITIONS AND SERVICING OPERATIONS
Tom Hofer joined Jefferson Capital in 2014, after completion of his graduate degree in Physics. While at Jefferson Capital, Tom has focused his efforts on developing and enhancing the modeling capabilities of the Bankruptcy team, performing underwriting for acquisitions, and providing analytics feedback on operations and post-acquisition performance. As leader of the bankruptcy business line, Tom identifies and pursues bankruptcy portfolio acquisition opportunities, oversees bankruptcy modeling and analytics, directs the data scientists who work with the business line, and manages post-acquisition performance of the bankruptcy portfolio. Tom joined Jefferson Capital from academia with an emphasis in machine learning and decision science, and holds B.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Bethel University and the University of Minnesota, respectively.
Scott Gallagher
DIRECTOR OF PAYMENT REWARDS PROGRAM
Scott Gallagher joined Jefferson Capital upon its founding in 2002. Before joining the company, he held management roles at a national consumer financial services and retail goods company including leadership of its internal call center as well as its consumer correspondence operations and workflow processes. Building upon his 25 years of experience in the accounts receivable management industry, Scott has since been instrumental in developing Jefferson Capital’s Payment Rewards Program. He currently leads the Program’s on-going development and innovation initiatives, manages all existing and potential client relationships, oversees the Program’s data analytics, and supervises post-program performance. Scott holds a B.S. degree from Bemidji State University.
Kevin Swanson
DIRECTOR OF INTERNAL RECOVERY AND COLLECTIONS OPERATIONS
Kevin Swanson joined Jefferson Capital in 2016 with 15 years of operations and finance experience in the accounts receivable management industry. Before joining Jefferson Capital, Kevin served as CFO/COO for several manufacturing and service businesses. Since joining the company Kevin has been instrumental in identifying, developing, and managing several key operational initiatives for Jefferson Capital. This includes management of the expansion of the company’s internal collections and servicing operations both domestically and internationally. He currently leads the company’s daily internal collections operations and oversees compliance and strategy for the Account Support team. Kevin has served as an advisory board member for a national payment processing company, as well as a board member for several nonprofit organizations. He holds a B.A. in Finance from Minnesota State University.
Joe Fejes
CHIEF COMPLIANCE OFFICER
Joe Fejes serves as Chief Compliance Officer and Secretary of the Board of Directors Compliance Committee. Joe has over 20 years of experience as legal counsel in the accounts receivable management industry, with a focus on consumer litigation and regulatory compliance matters. He has earned the prestigious (CRCM) Certified Regulatory Compliance Manager designation from the American Bankers Association and is recognized by RMA International as a Certified Receivables Compliance Professional (CRCP). Prior to joining Jefferson Capital, Joe served in various legal and compliance positions with a federal bank and with Outsourcing Solutions, Inc. (OSI), a national leader in the accounts receivable management servicing industry. He is an attorney licensed to practice law in the States of Florida and Georgia and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Emory University as well as a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Georgia.
Mary Lewandowski
DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES
Mary Lewandowski, who has over 25 years of experience in human resources and business management, joined Jefferson Capital upon its founding in 2002. Prior to joining Jefferson Capital she served as the Human Resources partner for the collections operations of a national consumer financial services company. In her current role, Mary leads the Human Resources, Facilities Management and Media Operations across all of Jefferson Capital’s U.S. offices. She holds a B.S. degree in Management from the College of St. Benedict and is currently pursuing a Master of Arts degree in Human Resources from the College of St. Scholastica.
LeRoy Northam
CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER
LeRoy Northam joined Jefferson Capital upon its founding in 2002, after having served in various information technology roles with a national consumer financial services company. He has more than 25 years of experience creating and managing information technology platforms, innovations, and solutions. As the leader of Jefferson Capital’s Information Technology team, he currently oversees the company’s internal software development team, project management office team, network and infrastructure team, and cybersecurity personnel. With support from his team members, LeRoy has led the creation of numerous critical technologies and applications that allow the company to safely and efficiently manage workflows and processes in a compliant and secure manner. He earned B.B.A. and M.B.A. degrees from Grand Valley State University, has previously been certified as a CCCO (Credit and Collections Compliance Officer) by ACA, and currently holds the designation of Certified Six Sigma Green Belt by the International Six Sigma Institute.
Jeff Benveniste
MANAGER OF FINANCE PLANNING AND ANALYSIS
Jeffrey Benveniste joined Jefferson Capital in 2016 with over 20 years of experience in corporate finance. Having previously worked in both private and public companies, Jeff previously served as a Consultant for HomeServices of America, a Berkshire Hathaway Company, where he was focused on Mergers and Acquisitions and successfully consulted on over 30 transactions. Prior to that, Jeff served as Chief Financial Officer for Aeromix Systems, Inc., where he had responsibility for all of the company’s finance and treasury operations. Prior to that, Jeff served as Manager of Business Analysis and Planning for five years at PENTAIR, LTD, a $3+ Billion manufacturing company. Jeff has held a variety of other financial roles for multiple Fortune 100 and 500 manufacturing and financial services businesses. Jeff holds both B.S.B. and M.B.A. degrees from the University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Management.