Changing the Answers: Gerald Joseph Built Gerber Finance on Relationship Lending

But the reason Joseph initially moved to the United States had nothing to do with business. Joseph and his wife decided to emigrate from South Africa for their two sons’ education. Rather than separate their family across the Atlantic Ocean, Joseph and his wife chose to put down roots in a new country.

Deciding to come to the United States was also made easy because of Joseph’s professional experience. With a lending background that dates back to 1982, Joseph was an established player in the trade finance industry when he moved, having served as CEO of Gerber Goldschmidt Finance, a subsidiary of the Gerber Goldschmidt Group. Upon their arrival to the United States, Joseph and his family settled in New York and Joseph got back to business by running a small buying office leftover from Gerber Goldschmidt Finance, which was sold to Investec Bank in 1993. Joseph used that buying office as a “launching pad” for what would become Gerber Finance.

“I don’t think I really knew how different and how challenging it was going to be,” Joseph says. “It was especially difficult in a new country where I didn’t know many people, getting our name out and letting the industry know that Gerber was in business and had money to lend.”

“Through luck, hard work, some creativity, we landed a few mainstream deals,” Joseph says, noting that the Gerber really took the form it is known for today about five years in. “And as a result, we started getting a seat at the table. And, of course, we built on that. And then over the years morphed completely into asset-based lending.”

Joseph continued to build Gerber after those first five years and helped it attain a unique standing in the industry because of its adherence to his relationship lending philosophy.

Forming and sustaining relationships has always been the key for Joseph, especially as he oversaw Gerber’s expansion into working with more seasonal businesses and direct-to-consumer brands long before it became mainstream.

Being able to forge personal connections with borrowers makes for a greater deal of trust between Gerber and its clients, ultimately helping both sides of any transaction.

Changing Answers

“I think it’s true of money lending and finance that the questions that arise are often the same year after year, but with technology and advances in the industry, the answers and solutions change. If you’ve been doing this for as long as I have, it’s easy to think you have seen every problem and know every solution. But over time and for a whole host of reasons, not the least of which is technology, solutions change, Joseph says. ”So, for me, it was very important to get out of the way early enough so that I didn’t become a stumbling block for the growth of the company. I firmly believe it is better to leave too soon than too late.  I would like to be remembered as being instrumental in building a successful commercial finance company and, in the interest of its continued success, handed it over to the next generation in good time.

“The ABL industry is to me the university of business. Remember that you have two ears and one mouth — use them proportionately. You can learn so much more if you truly listen to clients, partners and colleagues,” Joseph says.

Now that he’s not working at Gerber full-time anymore (he puts in about three days a week currently), Joseph says that having handed the leadership reins to Palmer, and with Kevin McGarry taking care of credit, he’s sleeping better than he has in the last 30 years. He’s also had time to tackle new challenges, like learning to play keyboard and a decent game of tennis.