There is an incredible opportunity for lenders today to make processes better, faster, AND cheaper – all three at once – a true win-win, improving not only the customer experience, but also the lender’s growth, portfolio quality, and profitability. It’s simply a matter of working smarter by leveraging data and analytics.My experience is an unusual combination. The first half of my career was in hands-on roles in credit, operations and general management at commercial finance companies, including as Chief Credit Officer & Senior Vice President, Operations of American Express Equipment Finance, and as General Manager of a billion-dollar division of J.I.Case/CNH Capital. While in the second half I built upon my academic mathematical training, as Senior Vice President, Analytics & Product Development at PayNet – and creating the credit score that has become the commercial finance industry standard, MasterScore v2.As an employee, I have worked for independents, banks, a captive, and a service provider, including two start-ups, two turnarounds, and three companies where my work was integral to their being very successfully acquired at a premium by much larger companies. I introduced credit scoring at three of these companies, and at PayNet helped literally hundreds of companies with credit score evaluation, combination and/or implementation. My career has now come full circle – my very first job was in research and mathematical modeling at a management consulting firm that became Oliver Wyman’s New England office, and I am now an independent consultant working with commercial equipment lenders/lessors and alternative lenders.I am a Trustee of the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation, a member of its Executive Committee, and Chairman of its Research Committee. I am also a long-time member of the Equipment Leasing & Finance Credit & Collections Committee and Industry Future Council, and previously served on the Board of Governors of the Risk Management Association’s Washington D.C. & Maryland Chapter. I’ve been a contributor to Equipment Leasing Today, the Journal of Equipment Lease Finance, and the Monitor, where I published as a three-part series of articles “The 12 Secrets of Commercial Credit Scoring.”Though I am based in the greater Chicago/Milwaukee area, in normal times I often travel to Boston, New York, D.C., Florida and California – though I have gladly traveled elsewhere as needed.
