HONOREE

Mark R. Szczepaniak

Chief Financial Officer
Velocity Financial

Mark Szczepaniak has more than 30 years of industry experience in the real estate/financial services industry and held various senior positions with both publicly and privately held finance companies. He joined Velocity Financial, a commercial mortgage company, in May 2017 as CFO to help the company go through an Initial Public Offering (IPO). Velocity successfully completed the IPO in January 2020 and was listed on the NYSE as a public company.

Shortly thereafter, the COVID-19 pandemic hit and disrupted the financial markets. As CFO of a newly public company, Szczepaniak needed to find additional sources of funding to continue to grow the company. He worked on a Preferred Stock deal with two of Velocity’s largest shareholders, and in April 2020, during the height of COVID, he and his team successfully executed the Preferred Stock transaction, which raised $45 million in additional growth capital.

Since then, Szczepaniak has coordinated several other corporate financing transactions for Velocity, including a $175-million corporate debt deal in February 2021 and, most recently, a $215-million corporate debt deal in March 2022. During the second half of 2021, he had oversight responsibilities for the acquisition of a majority stake in another commercial mortgage company. The acquisition was successfully completed in December 2021. He also coordinated the implementation of a robust system of internal controls over financial reporting for the company as required under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for public companies.

Previously, Szczepaniak served as managing director of finance at PennyMac Loan Services, LLC from November 2013 until joining Velocity Financial in 2017. Previously from 2009 to 2012, he served as chief financial officer of Prospect Mortgage. From 2004 to 2007, Szczepaniak served as chief financial officer and vice president of finance of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle, and from 1996 to 2004, he served as senior vice president and corporate controller at the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago.

PUBLIC COMPANY: SMALL AND MID-SIZE FINALISTS

Anthony J. Bergmann

Chief Financial Officer
Capricor, Inc.

Anthony Bergmann is a seasoned executive with a proven track record having worked in the biotechnology and healthcare industries for more than a decade. Currently, he is the Chief Financial Officer at Capricor Therapeutics, a biotechnology company focused on the development of transformative cell and exosome-based therapeutics for the treatment and prevention of a spectrum of diseases.

At Capricor, Bergmann leads operations for the finance team and oversees business performance and strategic analysis for the company as it continues its transformative period of expansion. In January 2022, Capricor announced an exclusive distribution agreement with Nippon Shinyaku Co., Ltd. for the commercialization of its lead asset, CAP-1002, for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) in the U.S. Capricor will receive an upfront payment of $30 million and, assuming the product is approved, milestone and commercial revenue payments for potential total deal consideration of up to $735 million.

Bianca Medici

CFO & Partner
Park Lane

Bianca Medici is a partner at Park Lane and serves as its CFO and Head of Human Resources. With over 20 years of experience in accounting and finance, she oversees the accounting and cash management activities of Park Lane and its portfolio companies.

As a partner at Park Lane, Bianca sets the bar very high on several fronts: 1) she is an exceptional team player and puts the people at Park Lane before herself; 2) when interfacing with clients, she is always focused on adding value, giving a personal touch, and being very professional; and 3) her work is exceptional and her judgment is so good, she is often pulled in to help find solutions to non-finance issues. Medici started at Park Lane as a bookkeeper and has worked hard/smart in such a way that she is now a partner, CFO, and head of HR.