Meredith Fitz

EVP and Northeast Portfolio Manager, PNC Business Credit

Biography:

Meredith Fitz is Executive Vice President and Northeast Portfolio Manager for PNC Business Credit. The depth of her commercial lending experience enables Fitz to mentor and lead a team that excels in client relationships and portfolio management while contributing significantly to the revenue stream.

Meredith has been with The PNC Financial Services Group for more than two decades, in a variety of positions in underwriting, field examination and relationship management. Excelling as an underwriting manager for PNC Business Credit, Meredith leveraged that experience to become Head of Underwriting for PNC’s Corporate Bank. More recently as Chief Operating Officer for PNC Business Credit, Meredith was responsible for executive reporting, regulatory interface, and representing the business in enterprise-wide initiatives. Her broad range of experience fuels Fitz’s measured approach to portfolio management for PNC Business Credit’s most active region, the northeast.

Meredith is a two-time recipient of PNC’s Chairman’s Circle Award. She is a member of the Secured Finance Network (SFNET) and the SFNET Women’s Committee. Fitz is a graduate of Lehigh University and resides with her family in Asbury, NJ, where she volunteers with food and clothing drives, supports the local United Way, and sponsors environmental clean-up programs in Warren County.

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

Recognize the value in being the person who solves problems – even if the solution might not be part of your specific role. The words ‘that’s not my job’ should not be part of your vocabulary as you want to be the person who gets things done. Every time you help an individual or a team reach a successful outcome, you become part of the infrastructure they look to for support, and it is more than likely you will learn something along the way. Being that ‘go-to person’ can only lead to great opportunities down the line.

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

Embrace the fact that sometimes you will be wrong, and you won’t always know all of the answers. I have come to recognize that a collaborative process where I rely on partners and peers with diverse knowledge, experiences, and ideas can often lead to the best outcomes. The influence everything and instead go for a more team-oriented approach. Through- out my career listening to and relying on colleagues has continued to open me up to opportunities to learn and grow, and I have become a better partner, teammate, and leader for it.

What kind of role has mentoring and/or sponsorship played in your career?

Mentoring, along with networking and developing a broad spectrum of professional relationships, has been very important to my career development. I have had the opportunity over 20 years to work across several lines of business within one institution; this has given me access to managers and peers across a broad spectrum of roles in lending and due diligence, and also in operations and internal processes. I consistently rely on this network of individuals to discuss anything and everything, including specific transactions, line-of-business initiatives, and also personal opportunities. I have been so fortunate to be connected to such a broad knowledge base within towards challenging opportunities that most definitely ended up being the right move.

What do you think the industry could do to attract and retain the best and the brightest today?

We need to have focused and visible programs for talented individuals in college and/or coming right out of college. Our industry also needs to keep people connected with mentoring, social media, and networking opportunities that highlight the ever-growing and changing aspects of commercial finance. Our industry provides so many opportunities for complex interactions with interesting clients – it is not all that different from investment banking. If we elevate the dialogue in describing our industry, and plant that seed early in career discussions, we should be able to attract the best and the brightest right out of college. One of the stronger characteristics of this industry is once someone is in, they are in for the long haul so the key is getting the talent in the door early.