TSL Feature Articles

SFNet’s fourth annual Women in Secured Finance Conference attracted over 300 attendees for two days of inspiring (virtual) sessions featuring senior executives who shared their perspectives on leadership and communications while heading teams virtually and managing changes wrought by the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The consensus: Workers will not be returning to how it was even after a viable vaccine for the COVID-19 virus becomes available. Many of the speakers – women in top management, who are accustomed to being in the office, travelling, and meeting face-to-face with teams and clients—spoke about remote work challenges. They also offered creative ideas to ensure employees feel embraced during this challenging time.

The secured finance industry, just like so many others, has demanded that remote work become the “norm.” Will this change better enable the industry to attract and retain top talent?

Gibraltar prides itself on its ability to provide companies and their private equity sponsors with flexible financing and maximum liquidity, based on our ability to understand each business’ special situation. This enabled us recently to provide Texas-based Easy Gardener Products, Inc, a $20 million credit facility to help with a restructuring.

Easy Gardener designs, manufactures, and sells a broad range of consumer lawn and garden products. It sells its products under several well-known patented and trademark brands such as WeedBlock, Jobe's, Emerald Edge, Landmaster, Ross, and Jobe’s Organics. Its customer base includes longstanding relationships over a 20- to 30-year period with a robust network of large national home improvement and mass merchant retailers as well as local hardware stores and independent garden centers and nurseries.

Tiffany Dufu will be a Keynote Speaker at SFNet’s virtual Women in Secured Finance conference July 29-30. For more information or to register, please click here. 

Tiffany Dufu is founder and CEO of The Cru. Their algorithm matches circles of women who collaborate to meet their personal and professional goals. She’s also the author of the bestselling book Drop the Ball: Achieving More by Doing Less. According to the foreword contributor Gloria Steinem, Drop the Ball is “important, path-breaking, intimate and brave."

Named to Fast Company’s League of Extraordinary Women, Tiffany has raised nearly $20 million toward the cause of women and girls. She was a launch team member to Lean In and was Chief Leadership Officer to Levo, one of the fastest growing millennial professional networks. Prior to that, Tiffany served as President of The White House Project, as a Major Gifts Officer at Simmons University, and as Associate Director of Development at Seattle Girls’ School.

The new credit facility consists of an $80 million term loan, with a $30 million undrawn revolver. It replaces OneWater’s former $110 million facility with Goldman Sachs Specialty Lending, which included a $10 million undrawn revolver. In addition, the new credit facility will maintain more flexible covenants and terms. OneWater has elected to use excess cash to make a significant paydown of the principal amount in conjunction with the refinancing. 

Truist Bank acted as the sole administrative agent, collateral agent, swingline lender and issuing bank, while SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Inc. and Synovus Bank acted as joint lead-arrangers and joint bookrunners. 

Libby Gill is a leadership speaker, executive coach and author. She is also is the CEO of Libby Gill & Company, an executive coaching and leadership consulting firm, guiding clients and their teams through change, challenge and chaos. Previously, Gill was senior vice president at Universal Studios Television, and vice president at Sony Pictures Television and Turner Broadcasting.

Libby is the author of five books, including the award-winning “You Unstuck, Capture the Mindshare and the Market Share Will Follow, and Traveling Hopefully. Her latest book is “The Hope-Driven Leader: Harness the Power of Positivity at Work.” She is a former columnist for The Dallas Morning News.