Howard Freedland, CFA

Trusted strategic advisor and CEO coach with deep expertise in fostering open dialogue, building consensus, and guiding executive decision-making. Noted for strategic foresight, identifying emerging business opportunities, blending cross-industry experience, creative problem-solving, and incisive questions to unlock breakthrough solutions. Mentor leadership teams to align on vision while navigating complex challenges. An influential business partner and complex problem-solver with talent for cultivating high-trust cultures from the C-suite to the frontlines, driving alignment and breakthrough performance. Significant Board Experience across multiple industries and companies, from start-ups to large public companies.

CORE COMPETENCIES

■ Active Board Director ■ Executive Coaching ■ Strategic Leadership ■ Corporate Strategy 

■ Executive Leadership ■ CEO Mentor and Advisor ■ Strategic Planning ■ Board Governance 

■ Corporate Governance ■ Business Transformation ■ Audit Committee ■ Finance Committee 

■ Cybersecurity Oversight ■ Enterprise Risk Assessment & Management ■ Capital Market Strategy 

■ Cross-Functional Oversight ■ Crisis Management ■ Rpeat Entrepreneur

CORPORATE BOARD MEMBER & ADVISORY BOARDS

     ■ Current Board Member & Consultant - Lending USA (Private)

     ■ Former Board Member - Maxicare Health Plans (Public)

     ■ Former Board Member - Stars to Go (Public)

     ■ Former Board Member  TFC Telecommunications (Public)

     ■ Former Board Member: Cable Advertising Systems (Public)

■ Former Advisory Boards

     ■ Advisory Board Member: Empower America

     ■ Advisory Board Member: Save Venice

     ■ Advisory Board Member: Zacchary Opera Auditions

     ■ Advisory Board Member | National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC)

     ■ Chairman of Advisory Board | Residential Utility Billing Society (RUBS)

 CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

■  Invested $10 million in seed money and raised an additional $50 million in seed money through Online Lending Partners to launch LendingUSA. 

■  Coached the LendingUSA CEO as a Board Member and Consultant for 11 years, raising $220M+ in debt financing while scaling from seed to national lender issuing over $1.5 Billion in consumer loans.

■  Pioneered institutional marketplace lending during the Great Recession advocating consumer loan portfolios as an institutional asset class.  Formed the first institutional fund to buy unsecured consumer loans.

■  Hired as an advisor to the CA State Assembly during the 2000 statewide energy crisis. ■  Instrumental negotiating a plan which achieved a 30% reduction in energy consumption which resolved California’s electricity shortage in 2000.

■   Negotiated a joint venture between ResCom and GE Capital.  GE Capital committed $280 million in capital.  committed $280M to launch GE Capital - ResCom.  Retained to build the executive team.  Secured partnerships with major telecom providers including six RBOCs and two long-distance carriers and negotiated FCC regulatory changes that enabled nationwide bundled telephone service that reduced capital costs by $100M+.  Created the first residential flat rate bundled pricing for local & long-distance services

■   Founded and built National Water & Power. the largest residential utility billing service for the multi-family housing industry. Established a wholly-owned subsidiary, Open-C, which built an enterprise software system for major utility companies and achieved a 10x return with its sale to Accenture.

■   Rescued Fremont General, a California-based insurance company, by identifying a hidden asset. Arranged to lift-out Maxicare and took them public, raising $200 million for Fremont General and $200 million for Maxicare along with Solomon Brothers.

■  Enabled AT&T and other major companies to improve capital forecasting by developing the Net Terminal Budgeting formula, which resolved IRR limitations and guided future budgeting decisions.

■  Mentored C-level execs and next-gen principals at companies he founded or was a Board Member.

 EDUCATION, LICENSES & CERTIFICATIONS

■  CFA Charter Holder | CFA Institute, CFA Society New York

■  Ph.D. Candidate in Finance | University of Minnesota, Graduate School of Management

■  Bachelor of Arts, Combined Major in Philosophy, History, and Political Science, University of Minnesota, Experimental College

ARTICLES & PUBLICATIONS 

■  Purchasing Power – Taking Ownership of Mistakes

■  Barron’s – The Not-So-Fast Lane – A Balanced Newsletter Produces Fancy Returns

■  Forbes Magazine – Up and Comers – The Class of ‘83

■  Forbes Magazine – America’s Most Promising Companies

■  California Agent Magazine - Morbidity versus Mortality

■  Co-Author and Publisher of Port & Starboard – The Investment Strategist

■  Twin Cities Accounting Society - The Gaps in GAAP Accounting

■  Southwestern Journal of Finance - Net Terminal Value – A Capital Budgeting Methodology