James D. Conklin

Managing Director & Group Head

James Conklin is managing director, Group Head of Private Credit for Western & Southern Financial Group. He joined the company in 2022 to help launch a lower middle-market focused unitranche lending strategy.

Conklin has 20 years of experience in financial services. Before joining Western & Southern, he was a managing director at First Financial Bank where he was responsible for sourcing, structuring and monitoring leveraged credit transactions. Prior, he held a number of roles of increasing responsibility at Fifth Third Bank, concluding his career there as a managing director.

He has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in Finance from Xavier University and a Master of Business Administration cum laude from the University of Notre Dame. He and his wife reside in Cincinnati with their two children.