David W. Kemper Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Commerce Bancshares, Inc.
David W. Kemper is Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of the holding company, Commerce Bancshares, Inc. He joined Commerce Bank in 1978 as Vice President in charge of Commercial Lending and in 1991 was elected to his current position. Kemper heads the Executive Committee of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. A 1972 graduate of Harvard University, Kemper received a Master of Arts in English Literature from Worcester College, Oxford University in 1974 and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business in 1976. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Kemper is a director of Ralcorp Holdings, Inc., Tower Properties Company, and serves as an Advisory Director for Enterprise Rent-A-Car. He is a member of the Federal Advisory Council - Eighth Federal Reserve District. Kemper serves as a Trustee of Washington University and on the Board of Trustees of the Missouri Botanical Garden. Additionally, he is a board member of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, the Stanford Business School Advisory Board, and a member of the Committee on University Resources at Harvard University. He is currently chair of the Washington University Library National Council.
