Susanna Profis

Senior Vice President, Portfolio Manager, Bank of America Business Capital

Biography:

Susanna Profis is senior vice president and portfolio manager for Bank of America Business Capital (BABC), part of the Wholesale Credit division at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.  Based in New York, Susanna is responsible for the asset-based lending portfolio in the northeast United States.  In this role, she leads a team of credit professionals responsible for managing a $5 billion portfolio of credit commitments in the asset-based lending plus related products and solutions.   The team serves clients in a wide range of industries primarily in the middle market and large corporate space.

Susanna joined the portfolio management team at BABC in 2015 and took on the responsibilities of portfolio manager in 2017. Prior to joining Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Susanna served in various roles across underwriting and portfolio management functions with JP Morgan Chase and The CIT Group.

Susanna has a bachelor’s degree in finance from Pace University and is a holder of Series 7 and 63 securities licenses.   Susanna is a member of the bank’s LEAD for Women employee network and is also an LGBT Ally. She lives in Brooklyn, NY with her husband and their two children.

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

I think of success as a process being constructed overtime from the foundational building blocks. I have always believed that in order to get ahead and advance your career, it is important to start with the fundamentals. Therefore, the first essential building block is technical excellence in one’s field. One needs to invest the time and effort into developing the technical knowledge, ability to communicate efficiently and effectively, and of course a strong sense of professional ethics. When I work with my younger colleagues, I look for certain qualities – commitment to getting the job done, commitment to excellence and taking pride in one’s work product, and courage to ask questions. The next building block of success – and this is where many women tend to struggle – is the art and science of networking. I have heard this expressed in many a seminar I have attended – do not shy away from taking ownership of your successes and tell people about them. Having a strong foundation rooted in technical expertise will help overtime build confidence to speak up, to come forward with ideas, to raise your hand. The third building block of success I will note is the importance of placing yourself in an environment which is supportive and surrounding yourself with people who are willing and able to recognize your achievements, mentor you, and help you advance. I am proud to say that Bank of America was recently named a 2019 Catalyst Award winner by Catalyst, a global nonprofit working with CEOs and leading companies to “build workplaces that work for women.” This prestigious award recognizes exceptional efforts to accelerate progress for women in business. Bank of America is receiving the award for its ongoing efforts to be a great place to work and to support the continued development, empowerment and advancement of women in our company and around the world. The bank was also recently recognized as a leader in the 2019 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index.

Success is not an accident. With these three building blocks firmly in place and lots of hard work, success is a goal one can strive for and achieve.

What is your approach to change in the workplace?

We have seen a tremendous amount of change in our industry driven by the ever-evolving regulatory environment, technological advancement, the need to serve the complex needs of our clients to the best of our ability every day as well as by the competitive pressures inherent in the marketplace. It is a natural human response to resist change and to cling to the old and familiar routines, whether they work or not. However, continuously improving how we do things is critical in order for the banks to remain relevant and competitive in the face of disruption. As the old saying goes – change is the only constant. From my perspective, it is important to understand that change is unavoidable and necessary and to focus on the positive aspects of change – for example, how the adoption of new technologies makes us more productive and efficient as bankers and enables us to serve the needs of our clients better.