Bio

Bill Harper has been providing capital to companies for over forty years. During this time, he has developed extensive experience in evaluating, negotiating and structuring transactions and working successfully with hundreds of companies. Prior to co-founding Jefferson Capital, Mr. Harper was Chairman and CEO of First Commerce Capital, Inc., (FCCI) which he founded in 1994. First Commerce Capital, Inc. was a very successful Small Business Investment Company, wholly owned by First Commerce Corporation, a publicly traded multi-bank holding company based in New Orleans, Louisiana. Prior to founding FCCI, Mr. Harper spent twenty-three years with Westinghouse Financial Services, providing capital to companies throughout the United States. During his last ten years with Westinghouse, he created specialized investment units that invested almost $1 billion in private senior equity financings and was responsible for international operations, managing private debt and equity investments in Europe and the U.K. Bill is a former Managing Director of First Britannia Mezzanine Capital B.V., an international private mezzanine investment fund. During his tenure he participated in investment decisions aggregating in excess of $250 million dollars in numerous transactions in Europe and the U.K. Mr. Harper received a B.S. in Management from Louisiana State University in New Orleans in 1969 and attended the Harvard Business School where he completed the Program for Management Development in the fall of 1988.