Mohammed Islam

Assistant Vice President Underwriting, Siena Lending Group

40 Under 40 Category: Underwriting

Biography:

Mohammed Islam graduated from Western Connecticut State University with a Bachelor of Science in finance in 2015. He began his career at Siena Lending Group in 2016 as a collateral analyst shorty after graduating undergrad. During his time as a collateral analyst, Mohammed was able to quickly learn the fundamentals of asset-based lending and was able to implement what he learned while also continuing his education by sitting for the Chartered Financial Analyst (“CFA”) program. In 2018, Mohammed was promoted as an associate in underwriting. During his first year in underwriting, Mohammed conducted on-site collateral audits of prospective borrowers in order to further educate himself in ABL. During the same year, Mohammed passed all levels of the CFA and is currently awaiting to earn the experience to be certified. By the end of 2019, Mohammed closed multiple transactions to date and has been promoted to AVP in underwriting.

Mohammed grew up and continues to live in Connecticut. He is an active investor in real estate and is continuously looking for the next opportunity. He is an avid skier and aspires to travel to a new country every year.

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

I have been very fortunate to have had various mentors throughout the years, which, combined with great colleagues in general, are the primary reasons I have been with Siena for my entire career. One piece of advice that I was given and that has always stuck with me was to be intellectually curious. An intellectually curious person has a deep and persistent desire to know and acquire knowledge. He or she asks and seeks answers to the “why” questions and doesn’t stop asking at the surface level, but instead asks probing questions in order to peel back layers of explanation to get at the foundational ideas concerning a particular issue. This method of peeling back the onion has helped me in underwriting to analyze credits and structure deals. I have also leveraged the intelligent individuals within my own organization to learn from them and to understand how they view the world. The process of deep understanding has been fundamental to my career and even personal life. 

What is your definition of success? 

Coming from immigrant parents and being a first-generation immigrant myself, has given me a different perspective on how I would define success. Success to them was to be able to provide a good education and more opportunities for their children. Everything they did was the result of them wanting me to succeed. Success for me is to be able to provide those same opportunities to my community and to people who have not had the same opportunities available to them. As an underwriter, success is being able to provide flexible financial solutions for our clients. Whether it is a distressed company trying to turn the business around or a company looking to finance further growth, providing a partnership, and seeing our clients succeed is how I define success in my role. My professional success is meeting each client’s individual goal for their specific need, so their success is my success.

What effect has the COVID crisis had on your professional life? 

The COVID crisis has been a challenge for everyone and has been a disruption in my professional life. However, I can say that I have been able to take a positive away from this disruption. The crisis has taught me to be able to quickly adapt to the volatile environment. The current climate has been challenging, but utilizing the available resources such as the informative webinars provided by various appraisal firms, legal firms, etc. have been instrumental in navigating through these times.

What advice would you give to forthcoming generations of talent aspiring to win this award?

I would tell the forthcoming generations to keep pushing and that their efforts are not being unnoticed. I truly believe if you continue to work hard, then you will see results. I can personally say that the journey will not be easy, or stress free and it is not meant to be. We are meant to be pushed and continuously challenged throughout our careers. I can say that I am blessed to have the opportunities that were available to me such as amazing mentors and a great collaborative team. I would also tell the forthcoming generations to ensure that they leverage the brightest minds within their own organization by asking them questions or even shadowing them through their work. I am confident that there are many bright individuals within the forthcoming generations that will revolutionize the commercial finance industry.