Kelly Brown
Founder and managing partner
American Deposit Management Co.
Delafield
www.americandeposits.com
Employees: 15
A bank teller changed her life. Kelly Brown was just 21 when she went into a bank branch buried in credit card debt. The advice the teller gave her sparked Brown’s drive.
She hasn’t been in debt since, and was inspired to get into the financial industry.
“I knew I could inspire other people because I could speak from experience, I knew that’s the industry I needed to be in.”
Brown, who grew up in a rough Detroit, Mich. neighborhood, opened her own bank, and later founded American Deposit Management Co. in 2009.
She grew up across the street from a Ford Motor Co. paint facility where her father worked. He told her regularly, “You’d be lucky to work at the plant one day.”
Brown knew it wasn’t for her.
Today, her company manages a network of banks and credit unions and allows its clients to spread large bank deposits across multiple banking institutions in order to minimize the risk, Brown said.
Banking institutions can insure a portion of large deposits, but often can’t cover more than a specified amount. By spreading a large lump sum across multiple institutions, more of the money is covered by insurance.
Clients of American Deposit Management receive one statement from the company, which makes and monitors the deposits on their behalf.
“We started at a time when there was a lot of mistrust in the banking industry,” Brown said. “Many banks were failing, and clients were concerned about making large deposits. We knew we could help.”
Brown personally drove to area banks and met with senior management to discuss their balance sheets and how American Deposit Management could help them.
