Emily Carroll

Regional Underwriting Manager, PNC Business Credit

Emily Carroll has been in the industry for nearly 20 years, beginning her career at Finova Capital and then joining PNC Business Credit as a field examiner.  After two years in field exam, Emily was promoted to underwriter.  A few years later she relocated to PNC’s Los Angeles office to fulfill a need for a relationship manager.  As an RM, she managed a portfolio of up to 15 accounts, including several difficult workouts.  She then rejoined the UW group as a UW team leader, and shortly thereafter was promoted to regional manager. As a regional underwriting manager, Emily manages a national team of underwriters and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of new business ABL and various cash flow product underwriting. Emily and her team have underwritten ~$8.4B in commitments.  Emily co-wrote and teaches the SFNet Intro to Account Management course. In 2017 Emily received the SFNet 40 Under 40 Award. Emily obtained her B.S. in finance from Villanova University and her M.B.A., with honors, from Drexel University.  She currently resides in the Philadelphia suburbs with her husband and three young children.  

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

I would advise them to be flexible and open-minded with their career paths. Many of us start out with clearly defined career goals, when and where we would like to progress to the next steps – and that’s great. It’s necessary to identify goals so you can work to achieve them. However, there have been times in my career when I was asked to consider a position of little interest to me or to relocate despite my uncertainty. Each time I said yes, it ended up being a great career opportunity for me and opened many more doors than I expected. If I had stuck to my plan and not been open-minded about trying new positions or relocating, I don’t think I would have progressed nearly as far as I have in my career. 

How do you balance work/personal time? 

Ah - the ever-elusive work-life balance. As a working mother of three children under the age of 5, I admit I struggle with this one. My job can often require long hours. Generally, I try to step away from the computer and phone during “Prime Time” (evenings), so I can spend a couple of quality hours each day with my young kids between their return home from daycare and bedtime. If I am particularly busy, I will sign back on after they have gone to bed and get in a few more hours of work. I think it’s also important that our senior leaders set the tone of work-life balance. In our field, it certainly is not always practical to wait until the next business day, but there are plenty of times when emails and calls can wait. I am trying myself not to send emails late at night or to schedule non-critical calls on evenings and weekends, in order to be more respectful of people’s time. 

It is also important to include some time for self-care. Find something you love that relaxes you. For me this is running, and I try to do it for at least half an hour every day. You may not think you have the time, but you must find it! I guarantee you will be happier, less stressed and more productive at work.

How can commercial finance organizations attract and retain more women? 

As more women fill senior positions and act as mentors, more younger women will be attracted to those roles and see them as attainable. Many early-career women don’t think it’s possible to have a successful career and be a mother, so I think it’s important to speak out about the challenges and successes of working motherhood. Until recently, I felt I had to hide the fact I am a mother and feared I wouldn’t be taken as seriously in the business world. But I’ve recently realized that I would be doing working women a disservice. I want our industry to be more diverse and, in order to attract women who are mothers – or want to be – we need to demonstrate that our organization supports them. Of course, this can be challenging. Some things may need to be sacrificed, and you may need to outsource some household tasks, have a flexible and supportive partner or seek help from family. But I assure you – you can make it happen. You don’t have to choose between having a successful career and a family.