In addition to these hires, Sherrill Hornett was promoted to managing director to oversee Edge’s Portfolio Management team and practices. CEO Meredith Carter said, “Sherrill is a natural leader with a wealth of experience to share. She is a creative problem-solver and gets things done. Her promotion is well-deserved, and I am proud to have Sherrill as my teammate.” Hornett has spent her entire career in ABL, primarily as a relationship manager at Wells Fargo Capital Finance.
Edge hired industry veteran Karen Marino to oversee Edge’s Underwriting team and processes. Marino has also spent her entire career in ABL, most recently with White Oak and SLR. Carter said, “We were looking for someone who views credits through the lens of ‘how can we make this work if we wanted to’ before pointing out the potential risks of a borrower. Karen has proven to be both creative and practical, and quickly gained the respect of our underwriting team.”
Consistent with its desire to uphold its non-hierarchical structure and to prevent what Carter describes as the “dangers of having one unchallengeable credit honcho,” Edge also recently made the bold move of eliminating the Chief Credit Officer position in favor of solely having collaborative senior managers. Notably, Hornett and Marino round out Edge’s all-female senior management team, along with other department heads Joy Hanawa (Technology and Data Analytics) and Mary McAleer (Loan Operations).
Edge also hired Tim Thornton, Kaolin Levatino and Rich Feil to bolster its portfolio management team. Additionally, Bernie Liew, recently joined Edge, as an underwriter along with newly-hired senior collateral analyst Teresa Rinello who joined the Loan Operations Team.
Carter added, “It is critical to us that all new hires at Edge are a natural fit for our culture and mission to ‘question and improve long-held industry practices, maximize flexibility for the companies we work with and to partner with our borrowers through transitions, both expected and unexpected.’ Our recent hires are no exception.”
Whether Edge is financing a private acquisition or helping prior customers of regulated banks that no longer fit the institution’s changing lending criteria, Edge seeks to offer customized flexible terms, typically with no financial covenants. Edge Capital Lending, LLC (“Edge”), a national family-office backed specialty finance company with employees located in 16 states, provides customer- focused flexible $5MM – $50MM working capital solutions for lower middle- market businesses. With Edge’s ability to be more flexible on deal structuring and more accepting of traditionally disfavored industries, Edge takes a holistic view of each businesses’ challenges and turns them into opportunities. Edge is industry agnostic and works with businesses in the manufacturing, distribution, wholesaling, consumer products (including firearms), eCommerce, service industries, and more.
