Eileen Kowalski is SVP and manager of Training, Development, Quality Control, Recruiting and Diversity & Inclusion for PNC Business Credit.

Kowalski is a 30-plus year veteran of commercial finance and asset-based lending. She is integral to PNCBC’s Field Exam training program and to the team tasked with developing talent for PNCBC. Eileen joined PNCBC in 2004 as an AVP & Senior Field Examiner after serving as a Field Examiner for a predecessor bank of M&T Bank and an AVP & Senior Field Examiner with LaSalle Bank. Eileen’s responsibilities also include field exam quality control, campus and experienced hire recruiting activities and she serves as editor-in-chief for the quarterly PNCBC employee newsletter. She chairs the Business Credit D&I Committee and is a member of the C&IB/AMG DEI Council.  Eileen is a member of the SFNet Education Committee, the SFNet DEI Committee and is the SFNet Education Champion for PNCBC. She is also a member of the quarterly WISF Newsletter committee.

Please provide a bit of background. How did you get into the industry? What do you do in your current role?

I have been in asset-based lending (ABL) since 1990 and with PNC Bank since 2004. My background is mostly in field exam but for almost a decade, I have been teaching ABL to new hires, creating various training modules and helping to create training programs, as well as ensuring the field exam team has access to the latest collateral and managing other special projects. Additionally, I have been actively involved in recruiting at both the college level and with more experienced talent for the last five years. A new role I’ve undertaken in the last year is serving as the chair for PNC Business Credit’s DEI Committee and in that role, I work with PNC’s Corporate & Institutional Bank’s DEI Council.

Why did you join the Committee?

I am committed to diversity, equity and inclusion as an individual so being part of this committee aligns with my personal values. However, I know that improving DEI is an industry wide effort – not a job for one individual. As part of this committee, I want to hear other SFNet member’s ideas that work (or don’t work) and share my perspective as well. If we can all align on our plans and ideas for implementation, then we can move the industry forward, which will make diversity recruiting easier for the individual organizations.

What do you think the industry can do to increase diversity, equity and inclusiveness?

First, we need to educate potential ABL professionals about who we are and what we do. I find that when I recruit at the college level, many candidates have no idea that our industry even exists. By doing so, we have the opportunity to highlight potential career paths and also demonstrate the importance of DEI to our industry through our recruiting process. Second, we need to underscore the importance of DEI initiatives with our current members. Third, we need to establish solid guidelines for diversity hiring across the industry. While we have our own practices at PNC, ensuring that all of our member’s organizations are taking similar measures is important to success in this space.