Christina Zielinski

SVP & Lead Underwriter , Great Rock Capital

Christina Zielinski is senior vice president & lead underwriter of Great Rock Capital. Christina joined Great Rock Capital in 2016 to build-out and lead Great Rock Capital’s underwriting and portfolio management functions. As the initial and only underwriter and portfolio manager, Christina took on the full responsibility of underwriting new transactions plus managing credits once in the portfolio.   During her tenure at Great Rock Capital, she has underwritten over 30 transactions in an efficient but thorough manner, by providing leadership, balancing hands-on analysis, and being an effective negotiator. In addition, she has been instrumental in developing a team of six underwriters and portfolio managers to support the firm’s growth.  

Prior to Great Rock, she was an assistant vice president in credit risk for the Natural Resources group at Barclays, where she performed underwriting and due diligence for new clients and managed a portfolio. Prior to Barclays, she held positions at Louis Dreyfus Commodities and GE Capital in their Risk Management Program. 

Christina holds a Bachelor of Science in business administration from Northeastern University.

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

Do not believe your success will hinge on every deal that you are working on at that point in time. Yes, it is important to focus on the transaction at hand, but each one will have its ups and downs prior to closing. Believe in your individual contributions and be confident in those contributions to the team’s and the organization’s success. 

What role has mentoring played in your career? 

I’ve had great mentors throughout the course of my career, and they have been fantastic sounding boards for questions and difficulties, ranging from major changes to small issues. I will say most of my mentors have helped through informal channels, but they have been instrumental in shaping my perspective around my decision making. I seek out mentors that are not necessarily in the same product line and can be in different teams within larger organizations. Not being afraid to reach out to mentors (even if it has been a while) and asking for help has been beneficial for me to keep those relationships fresh and strong.  

What do you enjoy most about your role? Least? 

Learning about new businesses and industries makes the role very exciting. I see a lot of interesting situations and no two deals are alike, which makes every day different. This can also make my role challenging. Situations can change quickly, potentially resulting in an inability to close a transaction that the team has spent a considerable amount of effort and time on.  We try to take those situations and learn from these as much as we can. 

How do you balance work/personal time? 

It is important to know how to prioritize. Learning to prioritize the most important tasks at the beginning of each day and week is critical to managing a busy schedule with competing priorities inside and outside of your organization. Additionally, being able to identify what tasks and projects that can be delayed, along with having flexibility that not everything on your to-do list has to be completed each day, are key to keeping a balance. 

I’ve found it helpful to schedule my day in blocks and leave time each day to have at least an hour to an hour and a half of focus time to allow for work that requires deep thinking and concentration. During the pandemic, I’ve started taking quick walks outside during the day, which helps fit in exercise and allows for re-focus (typically before the workday starts and then around lunch time). In addition, I typically have a time when I stop working each day and limit the after-hours time I spend checking emails to 15 minutes. Maintaining this discipline helps to fit in personal time.  

What effect, if any, has working remotely had on your career and/or your industry? What have been the challenges and how have you worked to overcome them?

Pre-pandemic, frequent business travel and being in the office full-time was a part of my role, and I expect that will come back eventually; however, the team pivoted quickly with frequent check-ins and deal status updates, both internally and externally. We’ve found that regular and predictable communication with prospective clients is helpful.