Kara L. Goodwin

Managing Director, BMO Harris Bank

Biography:

Kara joined BMO Harris Bank as a managing director and head of ABL’s Retail and Asset Purchase Group (APG) during March 2012.  APG is focused on committing to and managing a portfolio of $50-$200MM participations in larger asset-based transactions and covers retail nationally for ABL.  Prior to BMO Harris, Kara spent three years with PNC’s Corporate Bank as an SVP-credit approver.  Previously, Kara spent over 10 years working as a director in Capital Markets focused on cash flow leveraged loan structuring and sales at Merrill Lynch Capital, GE Capital and Heller Financial. Kara also spent the early part of her career in leveraged loan workouts at Heller Financial, and started her career in public accounting at Deloitte.  Kara graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1991 with a BBA - accounting and received her Master in finance and economics at the University of Chicago in 1997.  Kara also is a CPA and is Series 7 and 63 certified, and resides in Chicago with her husband and daughter.

What advice would you offer to women just starting out in the industry?

Read Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg and take her advice!  I think Sheryl’s most important point for young women on the concept of “leaning in” is to drive hard at your career, take the career choices that you will learn the most from and push you the hardest.  She points out that you can always slow down later in your career, when you do actually have that family that you were futuristically thinking of at 22.  If your career is further along when life moments make you want to slow down, you have far more options available to you and your job has become more meaningful.  Your company will want you to be part of the team even if it is for part time if you are making an impact.  No one had given me this advice, but I essentially lived it.  I wound up having my only child when I was almost 40, and by then I was senior enough in my career that my job was too interesting to want to give up. 

What do you know now that you wish you knew in the beginning of your career?

I wish I knew that everything that was going to happen in my career, including all of the ups and downs, would help me grow and be a better leader, manager and person.  I had worked at two companies that were acquired.  The first time I struggled, as I had to step up in my job, as almost everyone above me left the company, and I had to make decisions I did not feel prepared for.  The second time  I was laid off along with most of my co-workers  in 2008, and did not find another job for a year.  I had to re-create myself and career to find a job in a different industry, which ultimately became asset-based lending.  

What kind of role has mentoring and/or sponsorship played in your career?

Mentoring and sponsorship have both played large parts in my career, though none of it was planned or even called that.  It was far more informal, and it primarily came from being fortunate enough to have great bosses.  One of my first bosses was extremely reserved and a great listener; but, when he talked, people listened.  My younger self learned a lot from being in the presence of that style, which was different than my own.  I have been fortunate enough since then to have bosses who have given me the freedom to make decisions and grow, but understand almost any situation I could encounter to be able to give me great advice.  If you do not have that situation with your boss, you need to find an advocate in your business outside of your direct management line, or potentially look at other opportunities.  

What do you think the industry could do to attract and retain the best and the brightest today?

Attracting and retaining the best and brightest is very challenging for companies today, particularly on the retaining side. A strong, positive company culture is critical.  If young people come in for an interview and  other young employees seem happy and have interesting work, this is the best advertising for your business.  I think giving younger people career options is also helpful, as most younger people coming into a company do not know exactly what they want to do.  BMO has a strong analyst training program, where people out of college are trained for a year and then pick three different bank rotations to cycle through for six months.  I was also given career choices at Heller, which I really appreciated at the time.