Getting to Know Michelle Macartney of Bridgeforce

Originally published on AccountsRecovery.net.

The more complex a problem is, the more excited Michelle Macartney gets. Passionate about credit reporting these days, Michelle is definitely in the right spot when it comes to complex problems. Of course, being a Type A personality doesn’t hurt her commitment to project management and organization, either. Read on to learn more about Michelle, why she likes, and needs, continuous feedback, and how organizing her wine inventory helps her relax on the weekend.

How did you get your start in the industry?

My first job out of college was as a General Operations Analyst at Ameritrust Bank in Cleveland (now KeyBank). I learned a lot about the back-room bank operations in consumer lending, commercial cash management, and branch automation, and evolved to project management for strategic projects such as new credit scoring and automated systems for centralized underwriting. After five years, I left Ohio for northern California, where I joined Fair, Isaac (now FICO) and focused on client implementations of their products. I then continued my career on the vendor side of the business evolving to where I am today.

What is your career highlight so far?

Two highlights stand out for me, and both come back to strong teams and complex work. First was at Fair, Isaac, when I helped lead the development and implementation of new credit application processing systems. I built the Solutions Delivery team from scratch and their collaboration and service to our clients was stellar. Second is with Bridgeforce – I first worked alongside the company’s partners on several client engagements before joining the firm. My impression was “these Bridgeforce guys really know their stuff and become the client’s partner.” We’ve hired the best minds in the business who gel as a team, support one another, dig in when work gets hard – and that makes me smile every day.

When or how are you most productive?

I’m most productive after 2:00 PM; given my location on the West Coast, at this time I’m usually winding down meetings and phone calls and can turn to work that requires more focus. I’ve typically been more of a night owl, but my West Coast location also means that I often have to be up early for meetings, so I’ve had to adjust my bedtime!

Which industry professional do you admire most?

There are many that I admire for various reasons, but I’ll go close to home and call out John Sanders, Bridgeforce’s Co-Founder and current CEO. John is one of the hardest working people I know with a rare combination of abilities for strategy development, business development, client relationship management and digging into details when needed. I learn something from him just about every week!

What is one thing you do better than everyone else?

Early in my career I made my mark as a very experienced and capable project manager. I brought structure to complex high-risk work in transformation projects across technology, compliance and organizational change. In the last 13-14 years I have developed deep expertise in consumer reporting, which goes across the entire lending lifecycle from originations through servicing to collections and recovery.

What do you like most about this industry?

Relationships – people tend to stay in this industry, and over time I’ve worked with the same talented people in different roles at different companies. The people I know are tremendously supportive to their industry peers. We’re all in this together!

What is one thing you wish you could change about this industry?

Consumer education – so much of the noise that we deal with stems from a deficit in financial literacy among the general population. I think everyone in the industry could do more to help consumers understand finances and make better choices.

If you weren’t in this industry, what would you be doing?

Earlier in my career I thought I might want to be an attorney after all of my work in contracts review and compliance. During a sabbatical in my career, I seriously considered events management, drawing on my project management skills – but didn’t want to give up my evenings and weekends. Most recently, my ideal work would be to own a winery in the Central Coast of California with a great winemaker and staff where I could focus on interacting with customers and running the business.

Describe a typical work day.

I usually start with a quick e-mail review to see if anything demands my immediate attention. The first six hours are almost always packed with meetings with clients, industry partners, colleagues, and prospective clients. Once the meeting pace slows, I turn to reviewing and shaping client deliverables and advisory consultations, developing proposals, working through follow-up items and preparing for the next day. Depending on the month, conference prep for speaking engagements also becomes a meaningful part of the mix.

What is your guilty pleasure?

Binge watching a series on the weekends, whatever has my attention at the moment. I’ve also been known to spend a few hours organizing my wine inventory!

What is the best advice you have ever received?

A former manager once told me, as she was about to deliver a performance evaluation, that she wouldn’t be doing her job well if she didn’t offer feedback for continuous performance development. She recognized that I’m a bit Type A and always strive to earn straight A’s. That really helped me and is an approach I’ve adopted as I have managed and mentored others.

What are you currently reading?

I read to escape and relish a book series that builds on the same characters. Right now, I’m in the midst of the Jack Reacher series, satisfying my enjoyment in reading law and crime-oriented fiction.

What is one fact you’d like everyone in the industry to know about you?

I value honesty and integrity above just about anything else. I truly couldn’t sleep at night if I thought we were not delivering on a client engagement at the highest possible quality.

Who would you like to see answer these questions?

Stefanie Jackman at Troutman Pepper Locke, and John Sanders and Andrew Domino at Bridgeforce