ABOUT THE FOUNDER
David O’Connell has been researching and writing about business lending for thirteen years, primarily at Datos Insights, formerly Aite Group. Earlier in his career, he worked in commercial banking as a loan officer, underwriter, and credit analyst. Between his careers doing commercial lending and writing about it, Mr. O’Connell assisted vendors in a variety of industries with their go-to-market efforts by crafting case studies, white papers, and calculators focused on return on investment (ROI). He also trained sales forces in the use of ROI in the sales cycle.
Mr. O’Connell enjoys bringing all three aspects of his history to bear for O’Connell Lending Insights clients. A veteran lender and analyst, he knows the intricacies, quirks, and pain points of lending institutions’ credit cultures as well as their front-, middle-, and back-office workflows. He also understands the barriers that stymie growth in this industry: the talent shortage, the need to more rapidly digitalize the borrower experience, and the need for credit and noncredit personnel to collaborate better in pursuit of higher rates of risk-adjusted return on capital.
Mr. O’Connell excels at using data to help his clients. He formed this company only after thoroughly analyzing his potential clients in focus-group-like interviews. Market participants were unambiguous: Mr. O’Connell’s long-standing distinction in this industry is, in part, due to how he works with fielded data sets to assist clients’ operational decision-making. He helps clients determine where to spend technology budget, who to acquire, and how to hit the right tone in go-to-market messaging with rock-solid data that often goes before the C-suite. Proprietary data sets, therefore, underpin this firm.
Whether engaging with a vendor or a lender and under a subscription or a consulting contract—or even an acquisition-related due-diligence project—value delivery is Mr. O’Connell’s focus. Insights and advice are delivered rapidly and in easy-to-consume products. Work is completed promptly by a seasoned professional with a network of more than 100 bankers—and not diluted by the various flavors of “outsourcing” that increasingly taint this industry. And every time you engage, you will learn something new.
Diligent, exacting, and thorough as Mr. O’Connell is, camaraderie characterizes his interactions. Value creation is ever the goal, but it cannot be achieved without solid personal relationships, and Mr. O’Connell’s collaborative spirit is treasured by his clients, his industry connections, and his colleagues. He looks forward to connecting with you to discuss the impacts of these singular times on business lending as well as to find out how you and your family are faring and what you’ve seen at the cinema lately.