Cassie Rosenthal

Senior Vice President, Rosenthal & Rosenthal, Inc.

Biography:

Cassie Rosenthal brings diverse experience and a wealth of expertise to Rosenthal & Rosenthal, Inc. She has dual responsibilities at the firm, managing both business development and marketing efforts. Cassie is highly skilled at sourcing and developing new relationships with management and senior-level executives at a wide range of companies. In addition to her business development responsibilities, she has also been instrumental in creating an integrated marketing strategy for Rosenthal, including its recent rebranding.

Prior to joining her family’s business in 2012, Cassie co-owned and operated two art galleries (Goff + Rosenthal) for nearly a decade, one in New York and one in Berlin. She is one of the founding members of the New York Advisory Board for Let’s Get Ready, a nonprofit supporting first-generation college-bound men and women and low-income high school students through the college-going process. Cassie serves as President of the Board of Directors for Women Helping Other Women (WHOW), a charitable professional networking group that helps women and children in need. She is also on the board of the New York Institute of Credit (NYIC) and is a great supporter of the SFNET and ORT.

Cassie has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Art + Auction, and Artnet, and has appeared on BBC Radio and CNBC. She received a BA from Colgate University and a Master in Art History from the Sotheby’s Institute in London.

What advice would you offer to women just starting out in the industry?

Don’t be afraid to speak up, ask questions, or challenge ideas. In an industry with a long history, certain practices may be in place simply because that is how they were always done. Women just starting out have the unique advantage of having a fresh perspective. What may seem obvious to you may not be to your veteran colleagues. Furthermore, women are intuitive and excellent listeners. Use that to your advantage to better understand your colleagues and clients and to inform your ideas.

What do you know now that you wish you knew in the beginning of your career?

That change is (almost always) a good thing. People change jobs, companies, cities, and careers all the time. Without change, you can’t expand your horizons and skillsets, meet new people, experience new challenges or push yourself beyond what you thought yourself ever capable of. I would tell my younger self to embrace every opportunity and not to be afraid to put myself out there. You would be amazed at what unfolds when you do.

What kind of role has mentoring and/or sponsorship played in your career?

The best mentors I ever had were my parents. I was fortunate to have their guidance and support as I navigated both my studies as well as my diverse career paths. Subsequently, I have always thought it important to pay that forward to others. I have been mentoring students since I was in high school and continue to do so today. Opportunities are all around us but it helps if you have someone supportive in your corner to encourage you to seize them.

What do you think the industry could do to attract and retain the best and the brightest today?

In addition to our individual company efforts to recruit today’s best and brightest, we would all benefit from more effective collaboration within the industry to strengthen the overall messaging and image we portray, especially toward young people just starting out in their careers. Pooling resources, sharing best practices, and generally creating a more open, transparent environment would give all of us – bankers, factors, lawyers, accountants, and others – a more unified and consistent platform to attract, recruit, train, and develop top-notch talent. Working together to develop collaborative presentations that represent various disciplines and career paths (finance, factoring, legal, accounting, and others) could be particularly beneficial in recruiting efforts at graduate schools, universities, and even high schools.