Steve Beriau

Managing Director, Encina Business Credit

40 Under 40 Category: Business Development

Biography:

Steve Beriau currently serves as a managing director for Encina Business Credit, where he is responsible for sourcing and structuring asset-based lending transactions. He joined Encina as a managing director and senior underwriter in 2016, completing due diligence and documenting transactions.

Prior to Encina, Steve was a senior underwriter for First Midwest Bank and held positions for Bibby Financial Services and MB Financial/Cole Taylor Bank within their asset-based lending, cash flow, and commercial divisions. Steve received his Bachelor of Science in finance and international business from Loyola University Chicago. He remains active at Loyola as a volunteer rugby coach and member of the Loyola Rugby Alumni Board.

How do you think the commercial finance industry can attract more young professionals?

Career decisions for young professionals are largely driven by topics covered in the classroom, headlines, or presented by mentors during college. From my experience these topics were heavily weighted towards investment banking and managerial finance, specialties that are regularly covered in the headlines. I consider it unlikely that our industry would be able to impose change on the business news cycle that is driven by sensational stories or by attempting to include business finance in the classroom on a school by school basis. Rather, our industry can attract these individuals by becoming active in opportunities that inform students directly, either through university involvement or mentorship.

Since universities are no longer leaning exclusively on career fairs for interaction with the businesses and trade organizations, the commercial finance industry can become more involved through university speaking engagements, industry summits, and panel discussions. These events are widely advertised to the student base and those who attend informational events outside the classroom have the characteristics found in the best young professionals. As a further benefit, the students attending these events are more likely to bring these topics into the classroom instead of waiting for the information to be shared with them.

University events also present an effective mode to locate mentees due to the difficulty in navigating institutions, especially if it is not an alma mater. Not only are these occasions attended by students but also professors and deans who can broaden our scope within the school and student base. Professors are happy to support students in their networking and introduce individuals needing mentorship to professionals they have encountered throughout their career. It is likely that some of us benefitted from an introduction early in our careers and we can facilitate this networking within the university community while also potentially benefiting our industry.

What advice do you normally give to the junior talent you mentor/what advice would you give to forthcoming generation of talent aspiring to win this award?

Inspired by what the first mentor of my career taught me, I advise junior talent to focus and reflect on three skills during their career: active listening, note taking, and application of knowledge.

I was certainly guilty of being an inactive listener during the initial period of my career. Being a recent graduate full of excitement and little wisdom, my mentor showed me the benefits to treating every interaction equally and with sincere focus. In the same way, I have guided junior talent on how being a good listener can develop their capacity to not only absorb pertinent information but also build rapport with peers and customers.

Tied within active listing is the ability to take effective notes during instruction and discussion. What can separate a junior staff member from others are those who properly manage and are effective at revisiting those notes. Further, many of the most successful members of our industry follow a rigorous process in revisiting notes in preparation of client meetings and credit committees.

Recalling this information and applying knowledge into new circumstances on a regular basis is extremely important in our industry. The junior staff member who can draw parallels from previous instruction and experiences can differentiate themselves from their peer group.