Director, Strategy & Execution - Commercial Lending

Position Description:

Cornerstone Advisors is a national management and technology consulting firm specializing in helping banks and credit unions improve strategy, technology, operations, and performance. We are experts in translating strategic goals into real-world execution. Our Strategy & Execution Practice Group works hand-in-hand with financial institutions to identify opportunities and deliver impactful results.

We are currently seeking a Director within the Commercial Lending segment of our Strategy & Execution group. This leader will play a critical role in managing client engagements, driving measurable results, and supporting transformation initiatives across the commercial lending lifecycle.  The Director, Strategy & Execution – Commercial Lending is responsible for leading consulting engagements focused on improving commercial lending strategy, credit delivery, loan operations, technology enablement, and overall performance at financial institutions. This role requires deep commercial lending expertise and the ability to engage executive teams, assess performance, and deliver strategic and operational solutions.

• Lead client engagements related to commercial lending strategy, process improvement, digital enablement, and organizational transformation.
• Analyze client performance data, credit portfolios, operational workflows, and system usage to identify gaps and opportunities.
• Provide strategic recommendations for improving credit origination, underwriting, closing, booking, and portfolio management processes.
• Guide clients through system selections and implementations related to loan origination systems (LOS), commercial lending platforms, and workflow tools.
• Leverage Cornerstone’s proprietary benchmarking data, methodologies, and frameworks to deliver high-impact client outcomes.
• Maintain a utilization target of 70% while managing multiple concurrent engagements and balancing internal initiatives.
• Cultivate and manage strong client relationships, acting as a trusted advisor to executive leadership teams.
• Contribute to the firm’s thought leadership through white papers, blogs, webinars, and industry presentations—particularly in commercial lending transformation.
• Stay current on commercial lending trends, regulations, vendor offerings, and market dynamics relevant to community banks and credit unions.
• Support sales and business development efforts, including proposal development and scoping conversations.
• Participate in internal projects and knowledge-sharing across the Strategy & Execution group.

Position Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred.
• Minimum 5 years of experience in commercial lending at a bank, credit union, or financial services consultancy.
• Proven experience in transforming commercial lending functions through process redesign, technology implementation, or strategy consulting.
• Prior consulting experience preferred, particularly with sales or practice development goals.
• Familiarity with vendor solutions such as nCino, AFS, Finastra, Jack Henry, or similar platforms is a plus.

Technical Skills

• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Word).
• Excel proficiency including pivot tables, lookups, and data manipulation preferred.
• Ability to synthesize large datasets and generate insights.

Other Qualifications

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills—able to facilitate executive-level discussions and deliver client presentations.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with commercial lending subject matter depth.
• Highly organized and capable of managing competing priorities in a deadline-driven environment.
• Team-oriented, self-motivated, and committed to ongoing learning and professional development.
• Willingness to travel up to 50%.