About Us

James Brown, Founder/CEO

James Brown founded JenStar Financial Services in 2003 after spending over 25 years in traditional banking. Prior to founding JenStar, he served as the Vice President of a bank in northern Minnesota with a strong emphasis in commercial lending.

His professional experience has included serving as the Sr. Vice President/CEO of a Minnesota bank where he oversaw all bank operations, commerical lending and the insurance department. During his career, he also managed bank development and oversaw the construction and full operation of branch banks. He has served on the board of directors for three financial institutions and has owned multiple insurance agencies.

Active in his community, James has participated in numerous boards for cities and counties, including the Leech Lake Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, the Northern Beltrami County Development Corporation, Rotary and various loan committees. A native of northern Minnesota, he is the father of two grown children and lives in northern Minnesota. 

Jenessa Jo (Brown) Kiecker, Analyst/Consultant

Jenessa brings to JenStar experience in developing and implementing policies and procedures, legal documents, administrative duties and a variery of experiences she has obtained from her educational training and previous work experiences.

Before joining JenStar Financial Services, Jenessa worked as a Quality Management System/Quality Assurance System Coordinator/Trainer with a certificate in ISO 9001:2000 Lead Auditor Cource.  She has experience to facilitate the development, documentation, training and implementation of polices, procedures and work instructions supporting Management Systems.  She practiced to improve efficiency, which included gathering and tracking of data, preparation of reports, charts, grafts and coordinating efforts between departments to improve communication and overall efficiency. 

Jenessa has also completed educational training for a Legal Administrative Assistant where she learned legal terminology, legal research, legal transcription and the preparation of legal documents. Currently Jenessa lives in Northern Minnesota with her husband and their two children. She and her father, James, enjoy combining their expertise and experience to serve clients with excellence.