Matthew Owings

Senior Vice President/Director Portfolio Risk Management, White Oak Commercial Finance, LLC

40 Under 40 Category: Portfolio/Risk Management

Matthew Owings is senior vice president/director portfolio risk management at White Oak Commercial Finance, LLC.  He joined White Oak in the fall of 2019 with the selected portfolio purchase of Veritas Financial Partners.  

Since beginning his career at Keltic Financial Services in 2008, Matt has worked in ABL groups for both banks and finance companies.  He has gained experience in portfolio management (including workouts, liquidations, and Article 9 and 363 sales), underwriting deals of various size and structure, onsite due diligence, credit memos, and credit committee presentations.  Leveraging his extensive experience, Matthew has deftly underwritten and managed numerous deals for White Oak.

Regardless of the type of work he is performing, Matthew consistently demonstrates a strong knowledge of, and deep commitment to, his customer base, a hunger for learning and professional growth, and the unique ability to balance both the attention to detail needed for effective underwriting along with a more comprehensive and holistic view of the industry.  Matthew earned both his Bachelor of Science (2004) and Master of Arts (2006) in economics from Clemson University.  

What is the best professional advice you have been given and how have you implemented it? 

A statement that stood out to me from early in my career was to remember that every action or inaction has its consequence.  You can’t expect positive things to happen for you if you’re not being proactive and seeking out opportunities.  This thought process applies whether I’m thinking of my overall career or my day-to-day interactions with borrowers, colleagues, vendors, etc.  

What is your definition of success?

I believe this is unique for everyone.  For me, it is consistently excelling and overcoming career challenges in a manner that makes me proud while also maintaining balance.  I want to be confident that I am on a career path which provides for continuous challenges, growth, and opportunity.  In addition, I want to know that the efforts I put forth are making me better each day.  It is also important to me to feel that career advancement is not being achieved at the expense of family relationships and personal goals.

How do you define a good leader?

A good leader creates a team environment where people are inspired and engaged.  They clearly communicate their organization’s culture and vision, though they manage to do this without suppressing the differing perspectives that exist within the organization.  ABL groups in particular may be comprised of people who have learned different approaches to lending and who have different tolerances for risk.  Good leaders listen to and act on others’ feedback allowing for improvement of company policies which is accretive to the goals of the organization.  I believe great things can be achieved when team members see that their opinions are being considered and acted upon.

When interviewing newcomers to the industry, what do you say to pique their interest on why they should accept a position in this industry?

I continue to be surprised at how overlooked the ABL industry is by recent college graduates and new entrants into the job market.  For anyone who would enjoy a diverse set of challenges, ABL provides the opportunity to work with numerous companies across nearly all industries.  Further, professionals in this industry often find themselves dealing directly with controllers and CFOs at a relatively young age versus their peers in other industries.  While ABL professionals are often seen as having a specialized skill set, our product allows for experience beyond just working capital finance.  Underwriters and portfolio managers in ABL actively deal with mergers and acquisitions, turnaround finance, and debtor-in-possession finance.  Over time, ABL professionals develop an ability to get behind the numbers, allowing them to understand a business’s quality of earnings in a way that differs from other areas of finance.

How would you encourage young professionals to become more involved in their community or volunteer? How have these activities outside of work helped shape your professional life? 

If you relocated to your current city for work, you could look into volunteer opportunities with the local alumni chapter for whichever college or university you may have attended.  I served as the volunteer co-chair for the Clemson University alumni club in NYC during my time there and we held several volunteer events benefiting the needs of local neighborhoods throughout each year.  After moving to Greenville, SC I was able to participate in Leadership Greenville, a flagship leadership development program through the Greenville, SC Chamber of Commerce.  During this program I was able to work alongside professionals in various fields on a project to renovate a local teen center.  The work was incredibly rewarding, and I was able to gain valuable insight from my teammates on the project.