Musser Excellence In Leadership Award
Dennis Alter
With his vision, passion and dedication that enhance the lived of people in the
Greater Philadelphia region and beyond, Dennis Alter personifies the ideal of the
Musser Award for Excellence in Leadership.
Mr. Alter began his career in education teaching English in the Philadelphia public school system from 1966 to 1969. In 1969, he joined TSO Financial, the family business founded by his father who was also a teacher. TSO Financial provided loans to teachers, a group which at that time typically had difficulty obtaining loans from banks. He continued to grow the company, acquiring Colonial National Bank and beginning a national credit card marketing initiative. The company went public in 1985, changed its name to Advanta in 1988 and began to focus on mortgages and the needs of the small business market.
Mr. Alter has served as chairman of the board of Advanta since 1985 and is also the Company's chief executive officer. Today Advanta is one of the nation's largest providers of credit cards targeted to small businesses. In 2000, Fortune named Advanta one of the "Most Admired Companies in America," and in 1994, Mr. Alter appeared on the cover of Business Philadelphia for its feature story on "Best Bosses."
As a result of Mr. Alter's deep commitment to the community, Advanta's board of directors established the Advanta Foundation in 1990. Under his leadership, this program has provided more than $10 million in grants for a variety of community initiatives in the arts, education, health and human services, and civic development.
A nationally ranked tennis player, Mr. Alter has been instrumental in bringing a series of high-profile tennis events to Philadelphia over the past two decades, including the U.S. Pro Indoor, Advanta Championships, and the 10th Anniversary World Team Tennis Smash Hits Event held in October 2002.
He also is active on a number of boards, including those of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, National Museum of American Jewish History, and Opera Company of Philadelphia.
A native of Philadelphia and a graduate of Temple University, Mr. Alter and his family reside in Ft. Washington, Pennsylvania.