LIHU‘E — Ken Rosenthal, on the heels of organizing a successful ‘Ohana Fit Fest on Saturday, Oct. 1, with his wife Maylette was busy on Tuesday, Oct. 3, making an errand stop at the Napa Pacific Service &Development before catching a flight to Arizona.
“You know, lending by day, nonprofit work by night,” Rosenthal said. “I live on Kaua‘i, my office is in San Diego, California, and I cover all 50 states. Today I’m off to Arizona.”
Rosenthal’s trip to Arizona was scheduled to participate in an awards ceremony after being named by The Coleman Report as one of five people nationwide to be honored with the title of Small Business Administration Business Development Officer of the Year. Rosenthal received notification of the honor just three days ahead of the ‘Ohana Fit Fest that took place in Princeville.
According to a press release from CDC Capitol, Rosenthal and Stacey Sanchez were to receive the top honor as SBA Business Development Officers of the Year. The pair of longtime CDC Small Business Finance business development officers were to receive their awards at the SBA Business Development Officer Summit in Arizona.
“I’m very grateful that I was nominated and selected, as it’s sort of a recognition of the hard work and dedication I’ve put in over the past 32 years,” Rosenthal, a senior advisor for CDC Capitol Markets, told The Pacific Business News. “It’s a culmination of my loyalty to the program, to our company, loyalty to our customers, the banks, the small businesses and the dedication to economic development for small businesses across the country.”
Rosenthal joined CDC Small Business Finance, a small business lender, about 32 years ago as a retail commercial SBA 504 loan officer. He represents Morgan Stanley in all 50 states on its wholesale SBA 504 first mortgage program, and generates about $50 million a year in business, states information from CDC Small Business Finance.
Based out of Hawai‘i, Rosenthal travels a lot, and works virtually to work with local banks, credit unions and non-bank lenders across the country.
“I get phone calls daily with every kind of SBA question you could think of,” he said. “And, it may not be something that’s directly related to what I do, but people know that I have the knowledge. The more knowledge you have, the better off you’re going to be. Knowledge is power, especially in this industry, because the learning curve is dramatically steep.”
Rosenthal attributes a large part of his success to working with the same company for more than 30 years. He also focuses on providing “above and beyond customer service,” and creating a brand that has helped toward his success.
“It’s really about providing the aloha spirit,” Rosenthal told The Pacific Business News. “I try to bring the aloha spirit to what I do. Lending can be mundane, but if you bring the aloha spirit to it, it can bring a sense of fun, and a sense of joy.”
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 808-245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
