Ben Navarro Bio

Benjamin Navarro is the Founder (in 1997) and Chief Executive Officer of Sherman Financial Group, the market leader in purchasing and servicing distressedconsumer debt, with over $2 Billion in revenue expected in 2016. Sherman Financial Group employs over 1,500 people in the United States, Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom. Sherman Financial Group’s business strategy is leveraging operational depth, financial resources and intellectual capital to meet the needs of the many consumers who are often underserved by typical financial institutions.

Mr. Navarro was formerly the Co-Head of Mortgage Sales and
Trading for Citicorp, with responsibility for the firm’s purchases, securitizations and sales of residential mortgages to institutional clients. During his tenure atCiticorp, Mr. Navarro was the top-producing mortgage and fixed income salesperson for seven straight years, and he was consistently one of the top
Sales people on Wall Street in credit-sensitive fixed income assets. Prior to joining Citicorp in 1988, Mr. Navarro was with Goldman Sachs for three years,where he worked on both the Whole Loan and Agency MBS desks. Mr. Navarro started his career at Chemical Bank, where he completed the credit-trainingprogram and spent two years making loans to mortgage banks and thrifts.

He has a B.S. in Finance from the University of Rhode Island (1984). Additionally,Mr. Navarro is the co-founder of The Compass Fund, a Connecticut based voucher program providing school choice for over 60 children. Mr. Navarro alsofounded Meeting Street Schools, a network of schools, which provides quality education to under-resourced children and families. The flagship school, Meeting Street Academy, is a demanding college preparatory school based in Charleston, SC for children from low income families.Mr.Navarro believes that all children, regardless of where they live, deserve the opportunity to attend a great school.

Additionally, Mr. Navarro set up a scholarship fund to help students at the University of Rhode Island. The Frank Navarro Scholarship Fund, named in honor of his father, provides half of the tuition for two incoming freshman. Scholarship recipients come from Westerly and Chariho, where Mr. Navarro grew up.

One of eight children, he worked his way through college by starting his own business. He created a student VIP discount card, which he sold to businesses in the area. As a result of this experience, Mr. Navarro learned that he could do something entrepreneurial and enjoys inspiring others to do the same. He spoke at his alma mater’s annual Career Day event in November of 2016 to share his story and encourage university students to, “come up with the biggest dream you can think of, then start down that path and see where it takes you”.