PHILADELPHIA/May 13, 2002 - Comerica (NYSE:CMA), a leading financial services company, announced today that its Technology and Life Sciences Division (TLSD) has hired Katharine Kappler as a senior vice president in its Philadelphia office.
Kappler, who has more than 20 years of specialized financial experience, reports to Susan Gill, TLSD president. She is spending her initial months in the division’s Reston, Va. office, working with April Young, senior vice president and managing director of the Mid-Atlantic TLSD. When Kappler begins her tenure in Philadelphia, she will be working with Steve Hobman, who is also a senior vice president.
"Katharine brings a wealth of venture banking experience to Comerica, as well as many contacts in the greater Philadelphia area, so we know she will be a tremendous asset as we seek to establish Comerica as the premier venture bank for the area’s emerging growth and late-stage technology and life sciences companies," Gill said. "We are committed to this market segment, and with Katharine, April and Steve as standard-bearers in the Mid-Atlantic area, we are confident about our prospects moving forward."
Kappler comes to Comerica from The PNC Financial Services Group’s Venture Bank, where she served as managing director, establishing the bank’s presence in the Mid-Atlantic region and maintaining portfolio quality despite the slowdown in venture capital activity. Prior to that, Kappler held management positions at Crestar Financial Corporation and BancBoston Corporation. She earned a bachelor of business administration degree from George Washington University.
"I am excited to be a member of the Comerica team and I hope to play a significant role in growing the technology division’s portfolio in the greater Philadelphia area," Kappler said. "Comerica is a strong bank and it’s really the main force in technology banking today."
About Comerica’s Technology and Life Sciences Division
Comerica Bank’s Technology and Life Sciences Division is one of the nation's leading technology banking practices, offering a wide range of financial services tailored to corporate customers, entrepreneurs and professionals. Veteran bankers provide credit and financial services and products to young, growing, professionally backed technology and life sciences companies as well as their more mature counterparts in the computer products, Internet services, telecommunications, life sciences and e-commerce industries. From 19 offices located across the U.S., Comerica’s Technology and Life Sciences Division serves all major technology centers. Comerica Incorporated is the 17th largest bank holding company in the nation, with $50 billion in assets.
Media Contacts:
Adrienne Moch
Pacifico, Inc. (for Comerica’s Technology and Life Sciences Division)
408-293-8600 x319
amoch@pacifico.com
or
Keith Turner
Comerica Bank-California
408-556-5111
keith_turner@comerica.com
