Gen Merritt-Parikh

President, Allied Affiliated Funding

Biography:

Gen Merritt-Parikh is the president of Allied Affiliated Funding, the factoring and ABL division of Axiom Bank, N.A. She has been with Allied since 2009 and has almost 25 years of experience in asset-based lending, factoring and commercial banking. Gen has been a Vistage member for over five years, has served on the Finance Forum board for ten years through 2018, co-chairing their annual golf tournament benefiting the Ft. Hood 1st Cavalry Division Association Scholarship Fund, and was the 1st runner up for the Top Female Executive Award by the city of Addison in 2015. Gen has a bachelor of arts degree in business and economics from the University of Texas at Dallas and is currently serving as a subject matter expert for the International Factoring Association’s Certified Account Executive in Factoring Program.

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

Be proactive. Don’t wait for things to happen to you. Learn as much as you can. Ask a lot of questions. Stay curious in how you “show up” --- with the desire and eagerness to learn and gain clarity. Ask for things that are important to you. Speak up. Remember to talk about your accomplishments. 

Studies have shown women are more reluctant to tout their accomplishments in the workplace. What advice would you give to help women be more comfortable with speaking up?

It’s easier said than done. You have to lean into the discomfort. Get uncomfortable and get used to being uncomfortable. You need to expand that comfort zone and start working your way out of that box now. Don’t wait. With practice, it gets easier. You will fail. You will rethink what you said. You will wish you would have done it differently. That is supposed to happen. It’s part of your journey… with everything we do. We don’t want to oversell or sound like we are talking about ourselves too much, so you have to find the delivery that feels right and fits for you. If you don’t talk about your accomplishments, others rarely will.

To get started, set goals that can be truly measured and track them. If you implemented a new process that gained efficiencies for the organization, talk about it. If you helped complete a project ahead of schedule saving time or reducing expenses, talk about it. Focus on what you accomplished, not all the details you went through to get there. Concentrate on the value you created. People need to know the overall impact you made.

Don’t oversell and don’t sell yourself short. You did it. Be proud of what you did. Give yourself credit. And, when in doubt, do the power pose on a Ted Talk or channel your inner Wonder Woman. After all, “You’ve Got This.”

What is your approach/advice to change in the workplace?

I believe in creating a culture where we all have a voice. We build trust so we can challenge each other and focus on the issues and their impact, not the personalities. Having candid conversations helps us move forward. Our goals can then be geared to making each person achieve more so we as a company can accomplish more. Only then, can we work to find the best solutions for our team and for our clients. My advice: push for solutions. Don’t get caught up in self-interest, agendas, insecurities or fear of change. We need to understand those things and acknowledge them, but don’t live or dwell in that place. Focus on the future. It’s where we are going that matters.

What do you enjoy most about your role? Least?

I truly enjoy our team and our culture. Our group is inspiring, and it makes me happy and honored to be a part of it. It’s the reason I get up in the morning. It’s my why. I love to see what we can do together. What I like least? That’s easy: anything that slows us down in pursuit of our goals, which, yes, includes compliance reporting (insert winky face here).