JPMorgan Chase Commercial Banking announced the launch of the Emerging Growth industry group within Middle Market Banking & Specialized Industries (MMBSI) and appointed Alton McDowell, a veteran banker, to lead the effort. The industry group is an extension of Commercial Banking’s specialized industry approach, with dedicated teams of bankers that bring industry-specific expertise to cater to clients’ needs.

The group will provide banking and financial solutions tailored to Emerging Growth clients including credit and financing, treasury and merchant services, commercial cards and international banking. Clients will have access to the Chase Connect digital banking platform to manage their finances, pay bills, receive and transfer money and more.

The team will deliver the entire firm to early stage companies, partnering closely with Investment Banking’s Disruptive Commerce group led by Chris Grose, and also provide access to J.P. Morgan’s leading Private Banking and Asset Management expertise to meet clients’ long and short-term needs.

The Emerging Growth group will serve consumer branded companies at every stage of growth in the rapidly expanding innovation economy, particularly those with steep growth trajectories and disruptive product and service offerings in categories such as food, health and wellness, home and lifestyle, beauty, pet and others.

“The Emerging Growth sector demands understanding of early-stage growth patterns, fluency with the solutions and services that high growth companies need, and a network within the venture capital community,” said McDowell, head of Emerging Growth for MMBSI. “We’re building a dedicated, domestic and international ecosystem around these companies, powered by J.P. Morgan’s vast resources and global network, to help them look around the corner and plan for future growth.”

McDowell has been with J.P. Morgan for more than 20 years, and has held key roles in Commercial Banking’s Corporate Client Banking & Specialized Industries group as well as in Investment Banking. He was a managing director in the Debt Capital Markets group, leading a banking team focused on the Diversified Industrials and Paper and Packaging sectors. McDowell also worked in the Telecom Media and Technology Group as a media banker working on M&A, IPO and High Yield transactions.

 He will report to Melissa Smith, head of Specialized Industries for MMBSI at J.P. Morgan.

“Disruptors in the innovation economy are changing the world with new business models, products and services that improve the customer experience,” said Smith. “Alton’s decades of experience, proven leadership and the critical relationships he has built across the industry will help deliver what high growth companies need to succeed as the pace of technological development and innovation accelerates.”

Today, the national Emerging Growth team of commercial bankers has a presence in key markets across the U.S., including:

• Austin
• Boston
• Denver
• Houston
• Los Angeles
• New York
• San Francisco
• Seattle.

JPMorgan Chase Commercial Banking’s MMBSI business has dedicated teams in the top 50 metropolitan statistical areas in the U.S., including 16 specialized industry teams such as Technology, Life Sciences and Media & Entertainment.