Runway Growth Capital, a provider of growth loans to venture and non-venture-backed companies, completed a planned executive leadership transition designed to support the firm’s continued growth. Effective June 30, 2026, Carmela Thomson, senior vice president, finance and accounting, succeeded Thomas B. Raterman as chief financial officer. Raterman, previously chief financial officer and chief operating officer, has become vice chairman.
“Carmela’s appointment reflects the strength of the leadership bench we have built internally. She has earned the confidence of our team through her disciplined leadership, command of our financial strategy and deep understanding of our capital structure. This is a thoughtful succession plan that supports continuity, discipline and long-term growth,” David Spreng, founder, CEO and chief investment officer of Runway Growth Capital, said. “Tom has been a trusted partner since Runway’s inception and has helped build the financial and operational infrastructure we use today. His move into the vice chairman role allows us to continue benefiting from his experience on strategic initiatives across the platform.”
Thomson joined Runway in June 2021 from KPMG and helped build the accounting and financial reporting foundation that supported Runway Growth Finance’s transition to a public company later that year. Since then, she has contributed meaningfully to the firm’s financial reporting processes and capital-raising efforts, while managing important aspects of portfolio accounting and operations during a period of significant platform growth. Her experience across accounting, audit, finance, capital markets and portfolio operations gives her a strong understanding of Runway’s financial strategy, capital structure and portfolio construction, positioning her to help guide Runway’s next phase of execution, including the accounting integration and reporting work associated with the platform’s recent strategic transactions.
“I am honored to step into the CFO role and grateful for the confidence David, Tom and the team have placed in me,” Thomson said. “Runway’s disciplined, credit-first approach and partnership-oriented culture have been central to its success, and I look forward to helping support the company’s continued execution and growth.”
Before joining Runway, Thomson served as an audit senior manager at KPMG, where she focused on audit, accounting and risk management for financial institutions. She is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a bachelor of science in accounting and economics from Loyola University of Chicago.
As vice chairman, Raterman has transitioned from his day-to-day responsibilities as chief financial officer and chief operating officer to focus on strategic initiatives across the Runway platform, including portfolio optimization, platform-level mergers and acquisitions, capital markets transactions and capital formation. Raterman will continue to play an integral role for Runway Growth Finance, Runway’s publicly traded business development company (BDC), serving on the investment committee and assisting with special-situation assets.
“I am proud of what Runway has built over the past decade and grateful for the opportunity to help guide the platform’s next phase,” Raterman said. “This transition allows me to continue supporting the BDC, our investment committee and our broader leadership team while dedicating additional focus to strategic initiatives that can strengthen the platform and create long-term value.”
Raterman joined Runway in 2015, shortly after the firm’s founding, and has been central to building the firm’s finance, operations, capital markets and reporting infrastructure. During his tenure, Runway completed the initial public offering of Runway Growth Finance, scaled its credit-first platform focused on providing flexible growth capital to late- and growth-stage companies, and executed several key strategic milestones. Most recently, Raterman played a pivotal role in Runway Growth Capital’s acquisition by BC Partners Credit and Mount Logan Capital, as well as Runway Growth Finance’s acquisition of SWK, both of which further expand Runway’s scale, capabilities and long-term growth opportunities.
