We’re just a bit different
ForwardLine was founded on one simple premise – to make it easy for America’s small businesses to obtain affordable working capital. Our leadership team is focused on bringing our mission to life every single day.
Decades of experience in tech, financing, banking, and business.
Mr. Carlson understands what it takes to succeed as a small business owner. Over the years, he and his wife have started several companies.
Mr. Nesbitt is a co-founder and co-CEO of The Vistria Group, LLC. He formerly was the co-founder, President and CEO of PRG Parking Management, LLC.
Mr. Mehta is a seasoned veteran in the financial services sector. He is the former CEO of TransUnion—a global provider of credit and information management services.
Mr. Marcus brings a wealth of experience in successfully growing financial companies. He is managing partner at Marcus Partners, LLC—a strategic advisory firm to major retail financial services organizations.
Mr. Bobins founded and is the chief executive of Norman Bobins Consulting LLC; providing financial consulting services to various clients.
Mr. Castleforte is a co-founder and partner at The Vistria Group, LLC. He formerly was the General Counsel and Head of Business Development at United Shore Financial Services, LLC.
As a member of ForwardLine’s founding team, Craig pioneered the concept of merchant financing. He guided the company from inception and grew it into an industry leader.
As part of the triumvirate of ForwardLine’s founders, Brian brings a background in small business financing with Rolling Oaks Enterprises LLC, a short-term debt provider he founded in 1997, to service small businesses in southern California.
Peter is a serial innovator and entrepreneur. He developed the concept of using credit card sales to underwrite financing.
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All small business loans offered by ForwardLine Financial, LLC are provided pursuant to California Finance Lender license #6039614. In certain states, loans may not be available at all or may be limited in availability depending upon certain borrower and loan attributes. In certain states where loans are not available, we may offer a purchase of future receivables. We do not currently offer any product in Nevada, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Vermont.
Peter is a serial innovator and entrepreneur. He developed the concept of using credit card sales to underwrite financing. In 1993, he founded Media Funding Corporation, based on the principle of advancing media funds to infomercial marketers and recouping payment directly from the infomercial-generated credit card sales. This concept inspired the financing model for ForwardLine.
Prior to founding Media Funding, Peter had an extensive career as a direct response marketer. In the early 90’s, Peter launched the ThighMaster product, creating a massively successful infomercial, starring Suzanne Sommers and later writing about his experience in his book This Business Has Legs, published by John Wiley & Sons in 1996.
He states that he has formed many entrepreneurial ventures over the last 40 years, where some were very successful, and some remembered only in a box of unused business cards. But they were all rich with experience, and he continues to do it because he enjoys it.
As part of the triumvirate of ForwardLine’s founders, Brian brings a background in small business financing with Rolling Oaks Enterprises LLC, a short-term debt provider he founded in 1997, to service small businesses in southern California.
Brian comes from a long line of entrepreneurs and he shares his business knowledge as an adjunct professor of entrepreneurship at the University of Southern California (USC).
“From my great-grandfather’s first car battery company in 1921 to my children’s lemonade stand, someone in my family has always been starting, growing or selling a business,” he says. “Entrepreneurship is our way of life.”
Brian served a six-year term as a Director for USC’s Marshall School of Business and is a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization. He earned a BS degree in communications from Northwestern University and an MBA from USC.
Brian has four children, and when he isn’t advising entrepreneurs, he can be found attending soccer games, Little League or gymnastics meets, or surfing the waves of Malibu.
As a member of ForwardLine’s founding team, Craig pioneered the concept of merchant financing. He guided the company from inception and grew it into an industry leader.
“As someone who has started and grown a business, I make sure everyone on our team understands what small business owners have gone through, what they’ve accomplished, and how valuable their time is.”
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Craig received a BA in economics, with high honors from Boston College, and a JD, with honors from Georgetown University.
Craig began his career practicing corporate and banking law with O’Melveny & Myers, LLP and Skadden, Arps, Slate Meagher & Flom, LLP. In 1998, he joined the world of entrepreneurial finance by teaming up with Brian Sullivan at Rolling Oaks Enterprises, LLC, a private investment fund that became a holding company for ForwardLine.
In his personal time, Craig is most often found coaching one of his children’s sports teams, or otherwise spending time with his family. Craig is an avid exerciser, enjoys just about all water sports, and remains a perpetual student of U.S. political and economic history.
Mr. Bobins founded and is the chief executive of Norman Bobins Consulting LLC; providing financial consulting services to various clients. Prior to that, he spent 40 years in the banking industry, beginning his career at American National Bank and Trust Company. Mr. Bobins currently serves as non-executive chairman of The PrivateBank and Trust Company and non-executive chairman of the board of Transco, Inc.
He serves as a board member for ForwardLine Financial as well as on the corporate boards of AAR CORP., AGL Resources, Inc., Omega Healthcare Investors, Inc. and RREEF America REIT II, Inc. Mr. Bobins is also a member of the boards of directors for Auditorium Theatre, Brain Research Foundation, The Field Museum, Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center, Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, Navy Pier, Inc., and the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.
Mr. Bobins has received numerous awards including the Illinois Bankers Association 2014 Illinois Banker of the Year Award, the 2012 Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship, the 2007 Order of Lincoln, the state of Illinois’ highest award, the 2007 Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce’s Daniel H. Burnham Distinguished Leadership Award, the 2003 University of Chicago Graduate School of Business’ Distinguished Corporate Alumnus Award, and the 1992 Human Rights Medallion from the American Jewish Committee.
Mr. Marcus brings a wealth of experience in successfully growing financial companies. He is managing partner at Marcus Partners, LLC—a strategic advisory firm to major retail financial services organizations.
Mr. Marcus is the former Chief Marketing Officer, Chief Credit Officer and Managing Director of New Ventures at HSBC Credit Card Services. Prior to this, he was partner at the Boston Consulting Group where he was a leader in their financial services team.
He currently serves as a board member for ForwardLine Financial as well as a board advisor to several financial services companies and non-profit organizations.
Mr. Marcus earned his Bachelor’s degree with honors in Political Science from Grinnell College and his MBA at Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago.
Mr. Castleforte is a co-founder and partner at The Vistria Group, LLC. He formerly was the General Counsel and Head of Business Development at United Shore Financial Services, LLC, where he was part of the team that transformed the company from a regional, independent lender to one of the nation’s leading independent mortgage lenders, and a partner at Kirkpatrick & Co., LLC.
Mr. Castleforte began his career as a corporate attorney at Winston & Strawn LLP, where he represented public and private companies in a variety of mergers, acquisitions and divestitures.
Mr. Castleforte received his BA from Duke University and his JD from Columbia University.
Mr. Mehta is a seasoned veteran in the financial services sector. He is the former CEO of TransUnion—a global provider of credit and information management services.
From 1998 to 2007 Mr. Mehta held a variety of senior positions at Household International, HSBC Finance Corporation and HSBC North America Holdings, including CEO of HSBC North America Holdings, CEO of HSBC Finance Corporation and Group Executive (Credit Cards) at Household International.
He currently serves as Board Advisor to ForwardLine and Senior Advisor to Giact—a leader in providing real-time data for payment risk analysis. He also serves on the boards of AllState Insurance, TransUnion, Datacard, Piramal Enterprises, AvantCredit, The Chicago Public Education Fund, The Field Museum, and Myelin Repair Foundation.
Mr. Mehta earned his Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the London School of Economics and his MBA from the University of Chicago.
Mr. Nesbitt is a co-founder and co-CEO of The Vistria Group, LLC. He formerly was the co-founder, President and CEO of PRG Parking Management, LLC (The Parking Spot), an owner and operator of off-airport parking facilities, and was an officer of Pritzker Realty Group, L.P.
Mr. Nesbitt previously served as an Investment Manager at LaSalle Partners where he was responsible for investment management for regional retail properties and management and leasing for office projects and parking.
He serves on the Board of Directors at Jones Lang LaSalle, Norfolk Southern Corporation and American Airlines Group.
Mr. Nesbitt also serves as a Trustee of Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art and serves as Chairman of the Barack Obama Foundation.
He is the former Chairman of the Board of the Chicago Housing Authority and a former board member of the Chicago 2016 Olympics Committee and treasurer of President Barack Obama’s 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns.
Mr. Nesbitt earned a BA and an honorary Ph.D. from Albion College and an MBA from the University of Chicago.
Molly serves as ForwardLine’s General Counsel. Working closely with ForwardLine’s leadership team, she offers counsel on a variety of legal matters.
By staying abreast of unique legal issues impacting ForwardLine’s business, Molly ensures that ForwardLine’s foundation of integrity is maintained through compliance with applicable laws, rules and regulations.
“A big part of my job is simplifying our financing process so that our service continues getting faster and easier for our customers.”
Prior to joining ForwardLine, Molly practiced as both a corporate attorney and an intellectual property transactional attorney at Brobeck, Phleger, & Harrison, LLP and Irell & Manella, LLP.
She also served as Director of Legal Affairs for Wirebreak Entertainment. From 2002 to 2008 Molly was an adjunct professor at Loyola Law School, where she taught Venture Capital Financing and Business Planning.
Molly received her undergraduate degree in American history from Brown University, and earned her JD, with high honors, from Georgetown University, where she served as the Executive Editor of The Georgetown Law Journal. After graduation, she worked as a clerk to The Honorable Joseph M. McLaughlin of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York City.
In addition to her role at ForwardLine, Molly enjoys a variety of sports, reading, cooking, traveling and – most of all – spending time with her family.
Shailen is a technology executive with a strong history of digital transformation, company reorganizations, and budget management at public and private companies. He knows the small business industry having started three small businesses, the importance of having access to capital, and experience building applications focusing on main street businesses at two previous companies.
Prior to joining ForwardLine, Shailen has held senior executive roles at Gannett, Spark Networks, Dun & Bradstreet, and American Express.
Shailen earned his BS in Engineering from the University of California Los Angeles and his MS in Computer Science from UC Berkeley.
Stewart is a results-oriented veteran with broad experience in the financial services industry. He brings to ForwardLine rich domain expertise in data analytics, credit risk management, credit scoring, and credit bureau information.
As ForwardLine’s Chief Risk and Analytics Officer, Stewart ensures that ForwardLine establishes and maintains all credit risk policies supporting its lending products to preserve the safety and soundness of the company. He also ensures that all risk decisions follow internal policies for approval. “It is very satisfying to me that our innovative underwriting, powered by advanced analytics and algorithms, is helping small business owners become better-qualified and is making it faster to receive the funds they need for their business.”
Prior to joining ForwardLine, Stewart was the co-founder and VP of Risk and Analytics at Ascend. Stewart has also held a variety of executive roles, including VP, Head of international analytics at TransUnion, and Director of Global Analytics at HSBC.
Stewart earned his BS in Computer Engineering from Shandong University in China, his Masters in Mathematics with concentration in Statistics from Portland State University, and an MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Sri brings twenty years of experience in scaling sales and operations for growth as a business leader, as a consultant, and as an entrepreneur. Having been a business owner himself, Sri understands the challenges of accessing capital to sustain and grow a company. As ForwardLine’s Chief Executive Officer, Sri is leading the company’s financial consulting efforts and customer service operations to help small businesses get access to capital for their growth. “Every day, we work with entrepreneurs to give them a chance at achieving their goals through financing options that they didn’t know they had access to.”
Prior to joining ForwardLine, Sri ran a startup SaaS company that helped businesses access and evaluate sales talent. He has held senior executive roles at Viking Cruises and Tax Credit Co. He was also a Partner at McKinsey & Company.
Sri holds degrees in chemical engineering and materials science from the University of Michigan, an MBA in Strategy and Operations from Kellogg School of Management, and a Masters in Operations Management from Northwestern University.
Larry is a seasoned customer centric executive who knows what it means to drive company performance. He brings to ForwardLine more than 10 years of experience in strategic planning, brand building, traditional and digital marketing, and corporate finance.
Larry believes in creating a strong corporate culture and values driven organizations. “I strive to understand our customers needs so that we can provide the products and services that add meaningful value. My goal is to build a marketing plan that mirrors the business strategy, where every touch point ties in with helping small businesses succeed.”
Prior to joining ForwardLine, Larry was the Executive Vice President in Marketing and Strategic Development for Robbins Brothers, The Engagement Ring Store and also worked for Marks and Spencer and McKinsey and Company.
Larry earned his BA in Accounting and Economics from the University of the Witwatersrand, in Johannesburg, South Africa and his MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
In his spare time, when he is not strategizing and planning for the next marketing move, Larry is spending time with his family, hiking, running, and enjoying the outdoors.
Bob is a financial technology executive with extensive experience at companies ranging from early stage startups to well-established industry leaders. As a senior investment banker with over 15 years of experience at firms including Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers, Bob has an extensive track record advising C-level executives in the financial services and technology sectors.
Prior to joining ForwardLine, Bob was EVP of Finance & Corporate Development at PeerStreet, an Andreessen Horowitz-backed fintech marketplace for secured real estate lending. In this role, Bob successfully led the company’s Series C capital raise, evaluated and managed the company’s capital base (including common and preferred equity as well as venture debt) and served on the executive team to establish operational and financial decision making protocols to drive growth.
Bob holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business (with concentrations in Finance and Entrepreneurship) and a BS in Accounting from the University of Southern California. He is formerly a licensed CPA having worked at PriceWaterhouseCoopers (previously Coopers & Lybrand).
Steve understands what it takes to succeed as a small business owner. Over the years, he and his wife have started several companies, including an early-stage language program for children, a consulting firm, and a venture-backed financial technology company. These experiences have provided Steve with a high degree of respect for the businesses that ForwardLine serves. “Throughout my entrepreneurial career, I’ve seen the value that partners such as ForwardLine can bring to the table in helping to deliver on a business owner’s dreams.”
Steve has built his career — including his tenure as former CEO of ForwardLine — on using data and technology to assist borrowers in improving their financial health.
Prior to joining ForwardLine, Steve was the co-founder and CEO of Ascend.
In this role, he led a team in defining the next generation of lending by leveraging behavioral economics and real-time data to monitor and reward borrowers for positive financial behaviors demonstrated throughout the life of their loan.
Steve has held senior executive roles at HSBC and Washington Mutual. He also advised global financial services firms as co-founder of Sung Carlson Associates and led marketing and business development at Intuit. He is actively involved on the regulatory front, including having served as an inaugural member of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Consumer Advisory Board.
Steve holds a BA in political science from the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
