During her three decades in the asset-based lending industry, Tree Buckingham has had the opportunity to participate in the creation of two ABL startups, including her current employer, Mountain Ridge Capital, a lender to the lower middle market. “Nothing beats that level of creation, curation and collaboration. It has truly been the highlight of my career to be part of both these endeavors,” Buckingham says. “I think also having had the lineage of learning ABL from the ground up and staying in the same industry for 30 years has given me a perspective to value all stakeholders within the business cycle.”

As executive vice president of operations for Mountain Ridge Capital, Buckingham is a key member of the firm’s leadership team and is in charge of numerous functions, including loan administration and servicing. In addition, Buckingham has extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions, system automations and operational process improvements. Buckingham is also an advocate for strong vendor relationships. She says the success of the secured finance sector is directly tied to these connections, motivating her to diligently maintain strong vendor relations throughout her career.

Buckingham’s approach to leadership centers on her mantra of “empower, equip, execute,” as she empowers each member of her team to work in concert to execute at the highest possible level. Buckingham believes the impact she has had on the people she has worked with and mentored continues to be as important as any success she’s had building businesses or closing deals.

“Over the past 30 years, I have been actively involved in training and mentoring the next generation of lenders, and to see these talents now scattered across the lending community brings me much pride,” Buckingham says.