Highlighting Women Leaders of CoreVest

In celebration of International Women’s Day 2018, we would like to thank all of the amazing female team members of CoreVest for their ongoing dedication, strength and leadership. This day is also an opportunity for us to highlight some of the women who have blazed the path and continue to help move our company forward. Read below to see how their career has advanced through the years and what words of advice they would like to share with other aspiring women leaders.

Beth O’Brien, President & CEO

At the helm is Beth O’Brien who serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of CoreVest Finance. Prior to leading CoreVest, Beth was Executive Vice President at Auction.com, where she ran its residential capital markets division and set the financing strategy for the platform. In that capacity she managed over two billion dollars of single-family and multi-family loan sales and multiple financing partners. She also founded a proprietary private money lender geared at the investor market as President of AuctionFinance.com. Beth was named a 2014 Woman of Influence in Housing by Housingwire magazine and was named to Mortgage Professional America’s 2016 Elite Women and as a 2016 Woman of Influence in commercial real estate by the Real Estate Forum and Globe St. She received her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and her B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania.

Q: What inspired you to go into your current field?

A: I wish I thought I was inspired! I have always been taken by something attributed to Louis Pasteur. He said that chance favors the prepared mind. I have always taken this to mean if you are always learning and doing your best that your collective experience will prepare you for the opportunity when it presents itself. I like to think I was ready to take the opportunities I have seen rather than have had the foresight to drive towards something specific.

Q: What are some strategies that can help women achieve a more prominent role in their organizations?

A: Share your opinion and back it up with concrete facts. Always come prepared to a meeting with a written agenda. Know what points you want to make even in an informal meeting.

Q: Define a great leader. What are some traits you think great leaders possess?

A: Great leaders care about the talent they are developing. You cant tell people what to do but you can put them in position to succeed and coach them through it.

Q: Can you tell us a little bit about your heritage?

A: Mixed European mostly – English, French, German, Scottish and Irish.

Q: What is your favorite TV Show?

A: Anything by Shonda Rhimes

Micaela Lumpkin, SVP of Term Lending

Leading the Term Lending group is Micaela Lumpkin, Senior Vice President. Prior to joining CoreVest, Ms. Lumpkin was a SeniorAssociate at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, practicing in the Real Estate and Finance group, where she focused on the acquisition of distressed debt, as well as both mortgage and mezzanine financing. Ms. Lumpkin received her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and her B.A. from the University of Virginia.
 

 

Q: What do you think are the secrets behind getting to where you’ve got to?

A: Being willing to take on additional responsibility, having a positive attitude/can-do attitude and being curious (meaning inquisitive, although some might argue otherwise). I would also like to think I’ve been able to build good relationships. I care about the people I work with and want to build careers for my team or for the associates or clients I have worked with over the years. I also do my best to facilitate deals and find a way to make them work.

Q: What challenges do women face in the finance industry and what are some tips to overcome that?

A: It is a very male dominated industry, but less and less every day. You have to be willing to take a seat at the table and not be afraid to give your opinion. Early on in my career there were too many times when others spoke up and I didn’t, when that very issue that I had on the tip of my tongue was highlighted or point raised that was later applauded; lesson learned.

Q: Define a great leader. What are some traits you think great leaders possess?

A: Passion, confidence, integrity and the ability to inspire and bring out the best in their employees/teams.

Q: Can you tell us a little bit about your heritage?

A: I was born and raised until early elementary school in Lima, Peru until we moved to Washington, D.C. My entire family lives in Lima, Peru and I’ve spent my entire life going back and forth between the US and Peru, especially recently since my parents moved back in 2007. Being Peruvian is a big part of who I am, since both my mom and dad are Peruvian. My paternal grandparents are also of Spanish and German heritage and my maternal grandparents are of Swiss and Italian heritage.

Q: What’s the best book you’ve read/heard (audio book) this year?

A: The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah and My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

Stephanie Casper, SVP of Bridge Lending

Stephanie W. Casper, Senior Vice President, currently heads the Bridge Lending team. Prior to joining CoreVest, Ms. Casper spent more than five years as Sr. Vice President, Investor Services at The Renaissance Companies/METIS where she was responsible for managing investor relationships and transactions. From 2007 to 2009, Ms. Casper was Sr. Manager on Marriott International’s Feasibility and Market Analysis team. Prior to Marriott, Ms. Casper spent 3 years in General Electric’s Experienced Commercial Leadership program rotating through several finance businesses including GE Real Estate, GE Aircraft Leasing and GE Money. Ms. Casper began her career as a manager at The Breakers, Palm Beach, earned her M.B.A. in Real Estate Finance from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and earned her B.S. from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration.

Q: What do you love about your job?

A: I love solving problems for customers, both external/paying customers and internal ones, my peers, team, others in the company. I also love connecting with people and then connecting them to one another.

Q: Any moments early in your career that surprised you in terms of how you were treated by men in the workplace?

A: I was always surprised, and continue to be surprised, by how some men will use pet names to address women in the workplace. Referring to us as “young lady” or “little lady” may seem endearing, but it is actually demeaning. In that same vein, I was always surprised by how frequently senior men would ask me to get them a coffee. My favorite (or least favorite) incident was shortly after graduating from business school. I had the opportunity to run a meeting with senior leadership on a project that I had been driving. My mentor on the project was much more senior, and in the middle of the meeting his laptop battery life expired and he asked me to go get his power cord and a coffee “while I was at it. ” I was just so stunned that I stood up and did as I was told, all the while biting my tongue so hard it was bleeding.

Q: How do you push through your worst times?

A: I usually try to shift my focus to the small victories, the little wins along the way that bolster the confidence and resolve to get through it. Sometimes this involves only finding the teeny tiny victories in the everyday mundane. When that doesn’t quite do it, I focus on the supportive family and friends that I have outside of work. When all else fails, I hit the gym to sweat it out and then pour myself a big scotch when I get home.

Q: Can you tell us a little bit about your heritage?

A: From a heritage perspective, I guess you could say I am the classic American; a blend of 6 different northern European and Mediterranean ethnicities.

Q: What’s the best book you’ve read/heard (audio book) this year?

A: I’m a reader and try to alternate between novels and business related/non-fiction. My favorite novel over the past year was Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders. In the non-fiction category, I loved The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F@*K (I think I need to re-read it actually…probably a few times a year)

Robbin Thibodeaux, VP of Human Resources

Robbin Thibodeaux joined the CoreVest team as the Vice President of Human Resources in July of 2017. Before joining our team, Robbin had 22 years of experience in HR through her roles as Director of Human Resources for Wyndham, St.Regis, Figueroa Hotel, and DoubleTree where she was responsible for all day-to-day Human Resources functions. She is a Certified Hospitality Educator (CHE) and has received multiple awards of recognition for her experience and talent in her positions. In her free time, she is a Trainer Advocate for the National Meningitis Association and Spoke Person for voices of Meningitis, where she is an advocate for the education of meningococcal meningitis awareness.

Q: What inspired you to go into your current field?

A: At the time early in my career I was working for a bank and the part I loved about the position had to do with all the people I would meet. I was given a review by my manager and told one of my opportunities is I was too friendly, because people would wait in line for me to wait on them. My manager said it was holding up the lines. I knew I needed to work in a field where I could make a difference in people lives. I have found that in Human resources.

Q: What will be the biggest challenge for the generation of women behind you?

A: I believe women have more opportunity now then they have ever had. The biggest challenge I see is women getting in their own way. Believe in yourself, set your own limits and terms. Dance to your own song.

Q: Define a great leader. What are some traits you think great leaders possess?

A: Stay true to your core beliefs. Remember people leave managers not companies. Care about your staff, not just in what they can produce for the company, and how you can help them be the best version of themselves. Go to the leaders you like for advice and surround yourself with people who want the best for you. Stay current and relevant.

Q: Can you tell us a little bit about your heritage?

A:My heritage is Cajun and Greek. I was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana , Calcasieu Parrish. Although growing up in California in my later years, I have never forgotten my southern roots.

Q: What was your dream job as a kid and why?

A: A makeup artist for the entertainment industry. The skill to be able to transform someone from one-time period to another just through makeup and wardrobe has always fascinated me.

#IG