Head of Capital Formation & Investor Relations

Lendistry is a certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and Community Development Entity (CDE), and the nation’s largest minority-led, tech-savvy lender for small businesses, residential, and commercial real estate. Our mission is to create economic opportunities and fuel growth for small business owners and their communities through innovative financing and financial education.

About the role

The Head of Capital Formation & Investor Relations is a senior enterprise leader responsible for defining and executing Lendistry’s capital formation strategy, building and deepening relationships with institutional and strategic capital partners, and leading fundraising across the organization’s products and business lines. As the inaugural leader of a newly established enterprise capital formation function, the Head will build the function from the ground up, including its team, operating model, investor coverage strategy, systems, processes, and institutional capabilities. This role requires travel.

Responsibilities

• Enterprise Capital Formation Strategy & Prioritization
  • Develop and execute Lendistry’s enterprise-wide capital formation and fundraising strategy in alignment with growth objectives, lending programs, and long-term financial strategy.
  • Maintain an enterprise-wide view of capital needs and fundraising opportunities; recommend priorities, sequencing, target investor segments, and resource deployment in partnership with Executive Leadership and product leads.
  • Partner with Finance, Treasury, Executive Leadership, and product leads to translate funding requirements and financial priorities into actionable capital formation strategies and campaigns.
  • Identify and pursue new and innovative sources of capital to diversify Lendistry’s funding base.
  • Monitor institutional capital markets, private credit, banking, and economic trends; advise Executive Leadership on emerging opportunities, market conditions, and risks.
  • Establish fundraising goals and performance measures; monitor capital raised, pipeline quality, conversion, relationship development, and overall performance.
• Investor Coverage & Strategic Relationships
  • Establish an enterprise investor coverage strategy, including segmentation, account ownership, executive sponsorship, and relationship priorities.
  • Build, deepen, and personally own priority relationships with institutional investors, financial institutions, corporates, family offices, asset managers, private credit funds, impact investors, and other strategic capital partners.
  • Develop and execute a proactive investor engagement strategy to strengthen relationships and create opportunities for future capital commitments.
  • Maintain a strong understanding of investor mandates, objectives, investment criteria, and decision-making processes.
  • Serve as a senior representative of Lendistry in investor meetings, fundraising discussions, conferences, and external engagements.
  • Select, coordinate, and manage external consultants, placement resources, and advisors to expand investor reach while maintaining centralized ownership of relationships.
• Fundraising & Transaction Leadership
  • Maintain senior oversight of a robust, prioritized pipeline of prospective investors, funding partners, and capital opportunities.
  • Lead major capital-raising campaigns and transactions from initial engagement through due diligence, negotiation, documentation, commitment, and closing.
  • Partner with Executive Leadership, Finance, Treasury, Legal, and product teams to evaluate, structure, and negotiate financing arrangements.
  • Evaluate and negotiate transaction economics, financing structures, covenants, reporting requirements, and other material commercial terms.
  • Lead and coordinate institutional investor diligence, ensuring timely and accurate support from internal teams.
  • Identify and resolve issues affecting transaction execution, investor relationships, capital availability, or funding timelines.
• Product Positioning & Investor Relations
  • Partner with product and strategy leads to translate enterprise capabilities and capital needs into compelling investable propositions and shape product positioning.
  • Oversee development of institutional-quality investor presentations, financing materials, and due diligence communications.
  • Translate complex financial, credit, portfolio, operational, and strategic information into clear and persuasive investment narratives.
  • Ensure investor materials accurately reflect financial performance, portfolio performance, liquidity, forecasts, and capital requirements.
  • Establish and oversee a disciplined investor relations program, including ongoing communications, reporting cadence, and proactive engagement.
  • Partner with Finance, Treasury, Legal, and Compliance to fulfill investor and financing-related reporting obligations.
  • Prepare Executive Leadership for priority investor meetings and strategic capital engagements.
• Team, Platform & Executive Leadership
  • Build, lead, and develop a high-performing Capital Formation & Investor Relations function, including organizational structure, talent, roles, and performance expectations.
  • Design and establish the operating model and infrastructure required to scale the function, including CRM, pipeline management, fundraising workflows, and governance.
  • Establish scalable systems and disciplines for visibility, consistency, accountability, and execution across capital formation activities.
  • Serve as a strategic advisor to Executive Leadership on capital formation strategy, investor priorities, funding opportunities, market developments, and risks.
  • Provide regular executive-level reporting on fundraising activity, investor engagement, pipeline health, transaction progress, and market developments.
  • Foster a culture of risk management, collaboration, transparency, and accountability within the Capital Formation & Investor Relations function.
  • Represent Lendistry with professionalism, credibility, discretion, and integrity among investors and external stakeholders.
• Perform other duties as assigned to support the efficient and effective operation of the department and organization.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Economics, Accounting, Business Administration, or a related field required; MBA, CFA, or other relevant advanced degree or professional designation preferred.
• 12+ years of progressive experience in institutional capital formation, fundraising, investor relations, private credit, structured finance, investment banking, specialty finance, commercial banking, or related financial services, including meaningful senior-level leadership experience.
• Demonstrated track record of successfully originating, raising, negotiating, and securing significant institutional capital, ideally within lending, specialty finance, private credit, fintech, or financial institutions.
• Established network and demonstrated ability to develop trusted senior-level relationships with institutional investors, banks, asset managers, private credit funds, and impact investors.