Heather Gates

Background

About Heather Gates

I am a top-performing, strategic, and analytical Consumer and Commercial Lending Executive offering 15 years of experience pioneering end-to-end loan solutions in small to mid-sized credit unions to support portfolio growth, business development, and client management initiatives. As a highly autonomous and dynamic leader, I leverage strong business acumen to prioritize organizational deliverables based on quantitative analysis of scope, industry, and legal requirements. I have been recognized for leading multi-million-dollar portfolios while trailblazing marketing, products, and strategies that expand client retention and growth. I promote organizational stability and growth through strategic planning, risk management, project management, and personnel management. As Senior Director of Consuming Lending, I drive lending operations for a $1.8B credit union to ensure appropriate staffing levels; employee development opportunities; and assessment evaluations on performance, productivity, consumer products; and workflow effectiveness. I manage the performance and growth of consumer portfolios totaling $740M+ and contribute to the organizational strategy. While in this role, I have maximized productivity and served to support clients by performing critical annual assessments of processes and procedures and automation opportunities. Prior to my experience as Senior Director of Consuming Lending, I also held the roles of Director of Direct Consumer Lending and Director of Consumer Lending. Here, I oversaw and optimized the maintenance and performance growth of automobile, unsecured, and revolving portfolios. Some of my most notable accomplishments while in this role include expanding the Direct loan program by 188% over six years by executing program changes and managing staff performance, leading a sales team ranked top in the nation, and turning around a failing indirect program by implementing a new program repairing relationships with 250+ dealer partners and improving underwriting quality resulting in less than.30% charge-off. I am adept at analyzing institutional needs to align with market trends and devise key strategies to expand the business and maximize value. If you want to discuss my background or have any specific questions, please contact me through my profile.