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\\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