Key Facts
Career & Education
About
Kelly Lynn Loeffler is an American businesswoman and politician who has served as the 28th administrator of the Small Business Administration since February 2025. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served as a United States senator from Georgia from January 2020 to January 2021, appointed to fill the vacancy left by Johnny Isakson. Before entering politics, Loeffler built a prominent career in finance and business. She co-owns the Atlanta Dream, a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team, and was involved in high-level executive roles at Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), where she began working in 2002. The firm, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, operates electronic trading exchanges and later acquired the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange. Loeffler grew up in rural Illinois, working on her family's farm, attending public school, and waitressing. She became the first in her family to graduate college, earning a Bachelor of Science in marketing from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's Gies College of Business in 1992, where she was a member of the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority. After college, she was recruited into the automotive industry, working as a district account manager for Toyota Motor Sales USA. She advanced through nearly three decades in the automotive and financial services sectors, including positions at Citigroup and William Blair, before joining ICE. Loeffler later earned an MBA, though the institution is not specified in available records. Her tenure as senator was marked by her role during the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent controversies, but she lost a special election in 2021. As SBA administrator, she focuses on supporting small businesses. Loeffler is known for her business acumen and Republican affiliations, with primary activities centered in the United States, particularly Georgia.