Stewart Chesters is an expert at spotting the trends and pressure points of small business in America.

As CEO of the company’s North American operations, Stewart helps firms navigate any financial bumps in the road. By financing accounts receivables, a practice known as factoring, Bibby Financial Services has been a trusted funding source for businesses around the world for more than 200 years.

Through the lens of this business model, Stewart can identify how industry sectors ranging from manufacturing to transportation are faring in the current economy. He also has a pulse on how rapidly growing firms are addressing the opportunity costs of doing business in the U.S. and overseas. Constant monitoring of the company’s accounts receivables operations gives him the ability to assess the financial soundness of many of this country’s largest manufacturers and retailers.

Stewart joined the global headquarters of U.K.-based Bibby Financial Services in 2001 as Operations Director, managing a unit with $1.2 billion in annual volume. He is responsible for integrating the group’s largest acquisition, a division of a Top 10 U.K. bank, and for acquiring its first U.S. business unit. He was promoted to North America COO in 2006, and in 2008 was named CEO of Bibby North America. In his first year at the helm, the business grew by 25%.

Stewart calls himself a “builder,” growing organizations through his ability to identify and nurture talent, put in place sound processes and practices, and foster teamwork across function and multiple locations.

Stewart grew up in the seaside resort of Blackpool, England. After becoming a qualified accountant he earned his MBA from Aston University. He started his career as an auditor for BDO Stoy Hayward before joining Litter Boss, a commercial landscaping and maintenance firm, in 1990. By the time he was 25, he was running the company and got his first taste of factoring, which he used to help fund its rapid growth.

When it was sold, he turned to a career in local government at a time when the United Kingdom was privatizing many of its services. He is credited with helping to bring investment into Nottinghamshire, helping to create jobs in areas affected by the closures of coal mines. He also led a joint private- and government-owned career services company; among his many accomplishments was the introduction of a school voucher program that gave single parents  access  to pre-school childcare so they could return to work in areas of skill shortages.  He rejoined the business sector and began his career at Bibby Financial Services when the agency was renationalized as part of a change in government policy.