Meredith L. Carter

President and CEO, Context Business Lending

40 Under 40 Category: Business Development

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Biography:

Meredith began her career as an attorney working in private practice at a national law firm in its Delaware office, first as a corporate litigator and then as a corporate transactional lawyer.  Meredith later ran the firm’s nationwide business development and marketing department.

Prior to joining Context Business Lending (“CBL”), Meredith was managing director of BD at a committed capital fund focused on financing high stakes patent litigation.  She helped grow that business from inception and later helped sell it to a UK-based litigation funder.

Currently, Meredith is president, CEO and CLO of Context Business Lending, a family-office backed specialty finance company focused on asset-based lending.  Since becoming CEO, Context has quadrupled its portfolio and its team. CBL is taking a new approach to an archaic industry, incorporating best practices from successful technology companies and financial services firms.  Consider ABL Disrupted ®. Meredith is on the Board of Trustees of the Overbrook School for the Blind and on the Executive Board of the Villanova Law Inn of Court.

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

I have been lucky to receive a lot of professional guidance from some amazing mentors.  These are five pieces of advice that I found particularly illuminating:   

(1) “Find a way or make one.” – partner at my first law firm.  I have taken this advice to heart and incorporated it into the Context Business Lending culture.  We challenge each other to think creatively, to embrace new ideas, to always be improving things and to know that “because we’ve always done it that way” is never an acceptable answer. 

(2) “When you really want something, you’ll find a way to do it.  If you don’t, you’ll find an excuse.  If you are not doing your best, you are only hurting yourself.” – my high school track coach.  I think of his words every time I am tempted to not give something my all. 

(3) “The older you get, the more you realize you know nothing.” – mentor when I was in litigation funding.  His advice rings truer each year.   At work, I freely acknowledge my knowledge gaps and encourage others to do the same.  We can’t be good at everything.  At CBL, we hire people for culture and to cover our blind spots.  

(4) “Think of every conversation as an opportunity to learn something new, regardless of with whom you are speaking.  Everyone has something interesting about them.” – friend quoting their father.  Approaching conversations with curiosity has made me a more active listener.  As a result, I have learned much more than I would have otherwise. 

(5) “Analyze the common denominators of what you have liked and not liked in every job, then choose your work accordingly.” –Executive Coach Kathleen Marron, Esq. Following her advice, I realized that to be professionally satisfied (a) I need to feel like I am making an impact, and (b) the people with whom I work matter more to me than the vertical.   I also understood that a company with rigid processes would not be a fit; rather I enjoy improving things.  I chose CBL and a new vertical (I started my career as an attorney) because I respected its people and their values.

What is your definition of success?

I think success is prioritizing who you are and who you want to be, then spending your life in furtherance of those values and goals.  Personally, I measure how successful I feel in positively impacting my family, my CBL team, my friends, and our greater community. Professionally, I think feeling successful comes if you can play to your strengths while making a difference in something you are passionate about.  Success for me is not just about what I will accomplish in my own life; it is about what I hope to inspire others to do. 

How do you define a good leader?  

I think a good leader empowers their team, giving them the confidence to share ideas and the autonomy to make a meaningful impact.  I think it is important to understand everyone’s individual strengths, then align responsibilities with those strengths. Good leaders should also understand their colleagues’ long-term career goals, then show them paths to get there. I think a good leader also solicits team input, then sets clear, measurable goals that align individual and company interests.

What advice do you give to those you mentor? 

When I mentor Villanova Law students, I advise them to: identify and follow their own passions not others’ expectations; be persistent; say yes, then figure it out;  ask for what they want; and never compromise their values.  I remind them opportunities can’t present themselves while sitting behind their desks. They need to put themselves out there, meet many people, create opportunities for themselves, and take risks.