Ellen Cook leveraged decades of experience in asset-based and cash flow lending to build the Alter Domus ABL servicing department from the ground up. Her efforts have helped lenders participate in the ABL market without investing in internal staff or infrastructure, ultimately stimulating market growth.

As Cook notes, the activities of administering and monitoring asset-based loans can be cost-prohibitive, making outsourcing a way for “the market to expand opportunities in an efficient and cost-effective manner.” That forward-looking mindset has distinguished Cook from the start, and it’s why she says she has prepared the Alter Domus ABL function to succeed well into the future.

“As the Alter Domus subject matter expert on ABL, my biggest goal is to build this business to a size where it can survive beyond my career,” Cook says.

Cook’s depth of knowledge reflects 30 years in banking and finance. Her career includes stints at several Chicago-based organizations, including LaSalle Bank, where she worked in business credit analytics and underwriting, and Cole Taylor Business Capital, where she managed a team of seven underwriters. Later, as senior vice president at MB Business Capital, Cook was responsible for operations and business unit integration into MB Financial Bank during the 2014 merger with Cole Taylor Business Capital. In 2016, she joined Cortland Capital Markets, which Alter Domus acquired in 2018.

Cook is an active member of the Secured Finance Network, serving on the organization’s education committee and as a training instructor. Cook hopes that during her 30-year career she has been a role model to young women, especially women of color, who may have otherwise thought leadership positions in banking and finance were unattainable.

“I think I managed to show that anyone can be successful if they are dedicated, powerful performers who can form strong relationships with co-workers and managers,” Cook says.