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Michael Rosen\\u2019s finance career began inside the loan department of middle market lender Union Bank (now MUFG Union), when\\u2014after completing an 18-month training program\\u2014the 23 -year-old was provided with a stack of business cards bearing the title \\u201cLoan Officer.\\u201d
\\u201cAt the time, being a loan officer meant a great many things. You would be responsible for most of your clients\\u2019 needs, as well as bringing in new business for the bank,\\u201d remembers Rosen, who today credits the program\\u2019s scope with allowing him to quickly find his footing inside the bank\\u2019s apparel sector\\u2014a realm made up largely of midsize businesses ranging in size from $15 million to $100 million.
\\u201cIt was a significant program that provided some broad-based training in things like financial analysis, collateral analysis, and financial accounting, as well as the legal and ethical issues that come up when running a bank,\\u201d continues Rosen, who adds that for the next 7 years he responded to the unique needs and growing pains of his midsize customers.
Next, Rosen joined CIT Group, which at the time was aggressively expanding its factoring offerings. The financial services firm was known for not only taking over its clients\\u2019 accounts receivable but also signing outsourcing agreements for the customers\\u2019 credit collections and bookkeeping functions.
\\u201cOnce we were doing all of these things, it became a lot easier for us to make loans against the collateral because we were the custodian of all of the funds. We didn\\u2019t have to rely on companies collecting the money and then sending it\\u2014instead, it came right to us,\\u201d he recalls.
The experience of serving customers at CIT Group opened Rosen\\u2019s eyes to managing risk and the critical thinking that\\u2019s often required when advising businesses \\u201cwhere things aren\\u2019t going well.\\u201d
It was through just such a business that Rosen accidentally discovered a door of entry to corporate finance leadership.
\\u201cWe kept telling the owner that the business really needed to have a CFO, and the next thing I knew, I was offered the job,\\u201d explains Rosen, who accepted the position. Looking back, Rosen says that at the time he probably did not have all of the technical accounting knowledge that a CFO might be expected to command. Even so, he knew how to stabilize the business, and that\\u2019s arguably what mattered most.\\xa0\\u2013Jack Sweeney
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