Launched in 2019, SFFound’s Guest Lecture Program aims to educate and inspire young, diverse talent in the secured finance industry by introducing students to asset-based lending (ABL), factoring, and other secured lending disciplines.

In support of this lecture series, the Secured Finance Foundation connects industry leaders with undergraduate and graduate finance students. Each Guest Lecture is led by individuals from SFNet’s network of Foundation and Board members, committee leaders, or our local and community-driven chapter network, providing students with a high-level look at secured finance as an industry and a career path. 

To help ease the financial stressors that often come with internships, such as rent in a new city, commuting and work attire, the Martin I. Katz Guest Lecture Scholarship was created by the Katz Family to help bring diverse talent to the secured finance industry.   

“My dad, Martin I. Katz, was one of the early turnaround consultants, long before it was considered an industry,” said his son, Robert Katz, managing director, Eisner Advisory Group LLC. “He founded Executive Sounding Board Associates Inc. in 1978. One of the places he always attributed his success to was the Commercial Finance Association (CFA), the Secured Finance Network’s predecessor. Prior to me joining the industry, at our dinner table, he would share captivating stories about the Association and its luminaries, many (but not all) members of the Hall of Fame, such as Larry Marsiello, Joe Pollicino, Sr., Bill Davis and Walter Einhorn, just to name a few.

 “He loved education and being a part of the Secured Finance Foundation. He was an early member and constant contributor of the SFFound. The SFFound brought out his passion and he was always making sure his opinions were heard. I am sure, some would say, too active. I too, became an active member of the SFFound.

“When my dad passed away almost three years ago, I could think of no better way to honor his memory than establishing a scholarship in his honor and memory. At the time, Jennifer Palmer, president, JPalmer Collective, was SFNet’s president. So, I reached out to her and two of my dad’s favorite SFNet leaders, Jeff Goldrich, president, SLR Business Credit, who founded, along with another SFNet legend, Ted Kompa, Business Alliance Capital Corp., to establish a scholarship. That was the origin of the Guest Lecture Scholarship Program.”

Katz hopes to see others contribute to the Guest Lecture Program and help it grow. 

“Marty loved the SFNet and knew education made a significant difference to him, a kid from an underserved community who put himself through college, and became a leader as a turnaround consultant, honored in 2018 by the Turnaround Management Association’s Hall of Fame. What could be better than paying/playing it forward for our future?”, Katz said.

The program has already impacted students, including Nicole Byren, a senior psychology major at the University of South Carolina; Chapin Memmott, a corporate communications & public affairs major at Southern Methodist University; Jackson Landa, an economics and data science major, University of Chicago; and Jasraj Singh, a junior accounting major at Wayne State University - Mike Ilitch School of Business, who completed their 2024 industry internships thanks to SFNet’s Guest Lecture Program and the Martin I. Katz Scholarship. 

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