Daniel Goll

Vice President, Senior Underwriter, CIT Group, Inc.

40 Under 40 Category: Underwriting

Message from Daniel Goll


Biography:

Daniel Goll is a senior underwriter for the Commercial Services business at CIT. Dan started his career in CIT’s analyst rotation program in 2012, then spent two years in the customer credit department analyzing financials on major retailers.  In 2016, he joined the underwriting team where he structures factoring and asset-based facilities and underwrites acquisitions and mergers for CIT’s clients. Additionally, Dan played an important role in helping launch the Supply Chain Finance program at CIT, and he assists in managing CIT’s analyst rotation program.      

Dan graduated magna cum laude from Manhattan College with a bachelor’s degree in finance and global business studies and earned an MBA in accounting from Baruch College. Dan stays active by snowboarding in the winter and biking in the summer. He enjoys the outdoors and learning about other cultures, recently hiking Machu Picchu in Peru.  He lives in Long Island with his wife Colleen and 6-month old daughter, Erin.

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

Early in my career my mentor advised me to “listen and pay attention to details.” This advice was invaluable because I had recently graduated college where there were minimal classes geared towards this industry. Fortunately, when I started at CIT, I was surrounded by co-workers who had 20+ years of industry experience and were willing to share their time and expertise. Experience cannot be taught; it can only be gained. However, you can accelerate your learning by listening to co-workers who have handled difficult discussions with clients and experienced recessions, mergers and acquisitions, management/strategic changes and so on. 

No matter what profession you are in, it is important to focus on the details early on.  If you can understand the details, it will help you build a strong foundation for your career.  As an underwriter, paying attention to details is imperative.  Understanding the details of the credit is essential to demonstrating to management that you have thoroughly reviewed the prospect/client.  Whenever I learn something new about a prospect/client, I continually ask myself, “What else does this information affect and does it make sense?”  

What advice do you normally give to the junior talent you mentor?

Aside from telling junior talent to “listen and pay attention to details,” I encourage them to ask questions and be inquisitive.  We all know that it can be intimidating starting your first job out of college and it’s often difficult for novices to grasp the understanding of certain terms/topics.  Asking questions in the beginning enables junior talent to accelerate their rise up the learning curve, which helps set them apart from others.   

Fostering this development requires an environment that welcomes and encourages inquiries from junior talent. CIT provided me with such a culture, inviting questions and providing a rotational program that allowed me to discuss topics with colleagues that have expertise in those departments. I look forward to continuing to provide this same opportunity to junior colleagues at CIT.  

What is your definition of success?

When you think of success, you probably think “sales goals, profit targets.” But the true meaning of success is much broader than just revenue goals. In many roles, achieving a sales target isn’t the primary function. I believe true success is setting goals, stepping outside your comfort zone and keeping track of your progress.   

Continuing to grow and learn is the key. Setting multiple goals, big and small and individual and company goals, will gear your path toward success. Stepping outside your comfort zone will help you develop new characteristics and help you learn outside the box. Keeping track of your progress will allow you to maintain focus, learn from your mistakes and create new goals so you never settle and always continue to grow.