As executive vice president of IMA Financial Group, Paul Washington is a highly respected business and civic leader with over 30 years of experience in senior operating roles for both commercial and public sector entities. Washington brings deep expertise in business strategy & execution; managing a P&L; finance; M&A; law; economic development; and corporate governance.
Washington previously served as the Market Director for JLL, an international Fortune 500 commercial real estate services firm with over 90,000 employees worldwide. He oversaw business strategy and day-to-day operations, with full P&L responsibility of all JLL business units across Colorado, Utah, and Idaho.
Prior to his role at JLL, he served as the Executive Director of Economic Development for the City of Denver, a Mayoral-appointed, cabinet-level position. Washington managed a $60M annual budget and a staff of 290 employees where he developed and oversaw the execution of the economic development strategy of the City and County of Denver. Notable accomplishment while in this role include the reduction of the default rate on the City’s $140M small business loan portfolio from 18% to 5%; successfully recruiting a dozen corporate and divisional headquarters to Denver; and developing and executing the 2012-2016 JumpStart economic development strategies, which directly influenced the creation and retention of more than 30,000 jobs and leveraged $818M in private capital investment.
Washington also enjoyed a 10-year career in investment banking. He was the founder and president of LJS Holdings, an international investment banking firm, where, among other accomplishments, he represented GHCL Ltd., a large conglomerate based in India, on its acquisition of Dan River, Inc., the 2nd largest textile company in the U.S. He began his career as a corporate attorney, focused on mergers and acquisitions of public companies, for the international law firm of Hogan Lovells.
Washington is considered one of the most influential business and civic leaders in the State of Colorado. In 2019, he was recognized as the Most Admired CEO by the Denver Business Journal. He also serves on numerous boards including Denver Health, Colorado Housing Finance Authority where he is chairman of the finance committee, Colorado Concern, and the Downtown Denver Partnership. He was also the former vice-chairman of the University of Northern Colorado board of trustees. Washington earned both his law degree and his degree in business from the University of California at Berkeley, where he was graduate student body president. He also has a master’s degree in tax from the University of Denver