Mark Cuccinello is a senior ABL originator for J.P. Morgan Commercial Banking, where he is responsible for providing asset-based loans to middle market companies. Mark has been with the bank for 17 years and has more than 25 years of asset-based lending experience. Mark resides in New Jersey with his family.

Please provide a bit of background including how you got into the industry and your current role.

I initially started my career with CIT as a summer intern. I then spent five years in field exam, underwriting and managing special credits, all in the factoring group. My last two years at CIT were with Business Credit as an ABL portfolio manager. My time there set the foundation of my asset-based lending experience and introduced me to many industry contacts that I have today. Eventually I decided to move to J.P. Morgan, where I initially held various roles in ABL portfolio management. For the last 10 years, I’ve been part of J.P. Morgan’s Northeast origination team and primarily focused on companies in the $20 - $500 million revenue range. We provide ABL revolving lines of credit of at least $5 million as well as equipment and fixed asset financing.

Why did you join SFNet’s DEI Committee?

The Diversity, Equality and Inclusiveness (DEI) Committee is a group that was formed to bring awareness of and foster advancements in DEI in the secured finance industry. Ironically, I found out about the committee by seeing a spotlight profile article on one of the members. It was then that I reached out to explore ways to participate. Once involved, I realized how important it is for volunteers with both diverse and non-diverse backgrounds to support the cause. Most recently I’ve been part of a joint project with the Secured Finance Foundation to start a mentoring program focused on bridging the gap between established veterans in our industry and those new to their careers. As part of my origination role at J.P. Morgan, I’ve always focused on networking and building relationships. Hiring, training and retaining junior talent have always been focuses of mine. And I was excited to add that value as a new member of the group. Being part of the DEI Committee has allowed me to be more active in SFNet while forming new friendships and bringing new DEI awareness to colleagues and industry contacts.

What do you think the industry can do to increase diversity, equity and inclusiveness?

The SFNet and ABL industry represent a tremendous network of people across the country and decades of relationships. With effort and focus, we can easily leverage (pun intended) our professional community for the benefit of DEI. Corporate organizations are in a unique position to drive change through simple yet critical actions. This committee is just one example. As more people get involved and are aware of the change that’s needed, we can help increase diversity, equity and inclusiveness. The industry was built on relationships. We can use those as a base to work together going forward.