Michigan Business Connection (MBC) is excited to welcome its newest team members, Ron Burnham as a Senior Relationship Manager, Kevin Thimmes as a Senior Credit Analyst, Joey Merlino as a Financial Analyst, Latrescia Murphy as a Loan Servicer, and Andy Jacobs as Business Lending Manager.

Ron Burnham joins MBC as a Senior Relationship Manager and will be responsible for commercial lending, relationship management, and business development. Burnham has extensive experience in business banking and relationship management with financial institutions and will bring a great deal of knowledge to his new role. He began his career at Credit Union One as a Business Development Consultant. He has also held roles at FreeStar Credit Union as a Commercial Lending Specialist and Huntington Bank as a Business Banking Specialist, AVP, and a Business Banking Development Officer. He currently serves as a member of LBN’s Troy Blue Marlin’s Group, Michigan Business Brokers Association, and the International Business Brokers Association.  He has been a partner in Lifeline Business Consulting Services and in Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses. Burnham received his Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing from Walsh College.

Kevin Thimmes joins MBC, as a Senior Credit Analyst with primary responsibilities in analyzing credit and financial data of individuals and businesses to prepare reports related to commercial underwriting. In this position, Thimmes will also evaluate the collateral values of property securing loans and will actively participate with current and prospective borrowers in the negotiations of loan structures and risk mitigation. Thimmes brings over 20 years of experience in banking to his new position, beginning his career at Comerica Bank as a Branch Manager and later Commercial Lender. He has also held roles at Fifth Third as a Portfolio Manager and Main Street Bank (Superior National Bank) as a Chief Credit Officer. Thimmes received a Master’s Degree in Finance from Walsh College and a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Lawrence Technological University.

Joey Merlino joins MBC as a Financial Analyst with primary responsibilities in analyzing credit and financial data and preparing data for credit analysts and portfolio managers. He started his career at LOC Federal Credit Union as a Member Advisor and later worked at Apollo America and Superior National Bank as a Credit Analyst. Merlino has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with a Major in Finance and a Minor in Accounting from Central Michigan University.

Latrescia Murphy joins MBC as a Loan Servicer where she will be providing customer service support to both borrowers and credit unions, including researching and resolving questions and issues. Murphy will also support loan payment and payoff processing along with other support tasks within the servicing team. Murphy has held various customer service positions throughout her career, including Cashier, Administrative Assistant, Bookkeeper, and Marketing Manager. Most recently, she worked at Superior National Bank as a Commercial Lending Associate, where she prepared commercial loan documents, processed commercial loan collateral discharges, and processed various commercial loan-related transactions.

Andy Jacobs is MBC’s new Business Development Manager and will be responsible for providing lending support to the credit unions that MBC serves. Jacobs has over 30 years of financial experience, beginning his career as a Branch Management Trainee at NBD Bank before moving into the Treasury Services Department. He’s held Business Development roles at Central Corporate Credit Union (Alloya), CUNA Mutual Group, and Vestcom International. He has also held several Retail Sales Manager positions at Huntington Bank. He has served as a Board Member for the Senior Citizens Housing of Ann Arbor since 2015. Jacobs has a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Detroit Mercy and a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing from Michigan State University.