CSI Leasing, Inc. Chairman and CEO Steve Hamilton received a 2022 Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL) at its 31st Annual Founders Celebration.

The UMSL Alumni Association honors individuals who have distinguished themselves by obtaining the highest level of professional accomplishments and who possess the highest standards of integrity and character to positively reflect and enhance the prestige of the University.

Hamilton earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from UMSL in 1977 before receiving a Juris Doctorate from Washington University in 1980. Throughout his tenure at CSI, he has hired and mentored many UMSL graduates, not just from the St. Louis area, but from all over the world. He also serves on the UMSL College of Business Leadership Council.

“I am honored and humbled to receive this award,” said Hamilton. “UMSL gave me a chance. Without my start there, I probably wouldn’t be anywhere close to where I am today in terms of being successful in the business world. I’ve been with CSI for over 40 years now, and today, the company is largely managed by UMSL graduates. We recognize that UMSL graduates are people we want to employ.”

Hamilton joined CSI in 1983 as a corporate attorney before becoming General Counsel in 1988. Beginning in 1999, he led CSI’s international expansion to Europe, Latin America and Asia until becoming President and COO in 2008. In 2016, he was named Vice Chairman and CEO, then Chairman in 2018. Prior to CSI, he was an associate with law firm Susman, Schermer, Rimmel & Parker and a Clerk to the Honorable George F. Gunn, Jr., on the Missouri Court of Appeals. He is a member of the Regional Business Council of St. Louis.