Jefferson Capital Inc JCAP

David Burton founded Jefferson Capital in 2002 and has served as President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of our board of directors since 2025. Prior to our initial public offering, he was a member of the board of managers and has led the company since inception. Prior to founding Jefferson Capital, Mr. Burton served as Group President of OSI Education Services, a subsidiary of leading accounts receivable management service provider Outsourcing Solutions, from 1996 to 2002. Mr. Burton entered the accounts receivable industry in 1992 when he joined A.M. Miller & Associates, eventually becoming its President and Chief Operating Officer and serving in such capacity from 1992 to 1996. Mr. Burton holds a Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in Finance and Law from the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.

Mark Zellmann has served as our President of U.S. Business Lines since 2022. Mr. Zellmann joined Jefferson Capital in 2004 as a Financial Analyst and has been leading the U.S. Distressed Underwriting team since 2012 until his promotion to President of U.S. Business Lines in 2022. Mr. Zellmann holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Minnesota and a Master of Business Administration from St. Cloud State University. He holds a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) designation from the Institute of Management Accountants.

Penelope Person has served as our Chief Commercial Officer since July 2017. Ms. Person joined Jefferson Capital in 2002 and has since held various roles in our company, including as manager of our external recovery operations and in roles overseeing our internal call center operations and leading our client services and marketing teams. Prior to joining Jefferson Capital, Ms. Person served in a variety of leadership roles at Fingerhut Companies, Inc, a catalog and online retailer allowing for payments with credit, from 1987 to 2001. Ms. Person holds a Travel & Tourism degree and a Court Reporting degree from St. Cloud Business College.

Beth Leonard has served on our board of directors since 2025 and, prior to our initial public offering, as a member of the board of managers of the company since 2024. Ms. Leonard has been a partner at EisnerAmper, a global accounting and advisory firm, since 2022 and served as Partner-in-Charge of the Minnesota office from 2022 to December 2025. Prior to the merger with EisnerAmper in 2022, Ms. Leonard worked at Lurie, LLP, a Minnesota-based accounting firm, from 1984 to 2022, including serving as Managing Partner for the last 15 years of her tenure. Ms. Leonard served on the board of directors of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants from 2021 to 2024. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Business and Accounting from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.

Ronald Vaske has served on our board of directors since 2025 and, prior to our initial public offering, as a member of the board of managers of the company since 2016. Mr. Vaske has served as Senior Counsel at the law firm Ballard Spahr LLP since January 2026. Prior to that, he was a partner at Ballard Spahr LLP from 2018 to 2025, where his practice focused on advising financial institutions on regulatory, compliance, and Fintech matters. Prior to joining Ballard Spahr, Mr. Vaske practiced at the law firm Lindquist & Vennum LLP from 1998 to 2018. Mr. Vaske holds a Bachelor of Science from South Dakota State University and a Juris Doctor from Creighton University School of Law.

John Oros has served on our board of directors since 2025 and, prior to our initial public offering, as a member of the board of managers of the company since 2017. Mr. Oros is currently a Senior Advisor to J.C. Flowers and previously served as an Operating Partner from 2018 to 2023 and as a Managing Director from 2000 to 2018. Before joining J.C. Flowers, Mr. Oros held a number of executive positions at Enstar Group Limited, including serving as Executive Chairman from 2000 to 2011. Prior to joining Enstar, Mr. Oros worked in the Financial Institutions Group at Goldman Sachs from 1980 to 2000, where he became a General Partner in 1986. In addition to serving on our board of directors, Mr. Oros currently serves on the boards of National Guardian Life Insurance Company, iLending and TRICOR Insurance. Mr. Oros holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the Wisconsin School of Business at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Matthew Pfohl has served as our Chief Administrative Officer, General Counsel and Secretary since 2015. Prior to joining Jefferson Capital, Mr. Pfohl served as Vice President, Compliance and General Counsel at Interstate Auto Group Inc., a national auto sales and finance organization with significant consumer finance operations, from 2012 to 2015. From 2005 to 2012, Mr. Pfohl worked as a civil litigator at the Minnesota law firm Olson, Redford & Wahlberg, P.A. and from 2000 to 2005 as General Counsel and Director of Legal Services at AmericInn International, a national hotel chain. Mr. Pfohl holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Notre Dame and a Juris Doctor from Loyola University of Chicago.

Christo Realov has served as our Chief Financial Officer since December 2024. Mr. Realov joined Jefferson Capital in 2021 as our Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and Treasurer. Prior to joining Jefferson Capital, Mr. Realov worked in the Global Financial Institutions group at Citigroup from 2004 to 2021, where he served in a variety of roles advising financial institutions, most recently as Director. Mr. Realov holds a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Franklin & Marshall College.

Thomas Harding has served on our board of directors since 2018. Since 2015, Mr. Harding has served as Managing Director at J.C. Flowers, a private equity firm that focuses on investments in the financial services industry. Prior to joining J.C. Flowers, Mr. Harding worked in Bank of America Merrill Lynch's Financial Institutions Group from 2008 to 2015 where he covered a diverse range of bank, insurance and specialty finance companies. In addition to serving on our board of directors, Mr. Harding currently serves on the boards of Island Finance, iLending and Capital Funding Bancorp. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Swarthmore College, a Juris Doctor from Columbia Law School and a Master of Business Administration from Columbia Business School.

Thomas Lydon, Jr., has served on our board of directors since 2021. Mr. Lydon has served as a Vice President at J.C. Flowers since 2023, where he has been working since 2017. Prior to joining J.C. Flowers, Mr. Lydon worked in Credit Suisse's Financial Institutions Group from 2015 to 2017. In addition to serving on our board of directors, Mr. Lydon currently serves on the board of TRICOR Insurance. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Commerce from the University of Virginia.

On March 18, 2026, the Board appointed Susan Atkins to serve as a member of the Board, effective March 18, 2026. Susan Atkins has more than 40 years of experience leading complex corporate initiatives, with deep expertise in corporate finance, risk management, strategy, and governance. She previously served as Global Head of Wholesale Restructuring at JPMorgan and currently serves as an independent director for several pre- and post-restructuring companies. Ms. Atkins also serves on the Creditor Advisory Committee of the FTX Post-Bankruptcy Trust.

On March 18, 2026, the Board appointed Mr. James Manfred Pierce to serve as a member of the Board, effective March 18, 2026. James Pierce currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer at Minnesota Diversified Industries, and previously served as Chief Information Officer at SALO Korn Ferry. Prior to that, Mr. Pierce spent over 30 years at Cargill in a variety of leadership capacities in IT and commercial business development. Mr. Pierce also serves as an Independent Board Director at MinnWest Bank.