Executive Change: F.H. Cann & Associates Adds Walter Steele as COO

F.H. Cann & Associates (“FHC”), a full service debt collection and receivables management firm, located just outside Boston, MA announced today that it has hired Walter Steele as its new Chief Operating Officer. As COO Walter brings decades of Recovery, Default Prevention, Portfolio Management, and Optimization experience to the organization. By extension, that vast knowledge base will now be directly translated into the collection efforts dedicated to the performance of every strategic business partner’s financial portfolio. Walter brings to FHC a long proven track record of highly successful performance in all aspects of the credit and collection industry. He is a Certified Black Belt in Six Sigma process improvement coupled with more than 20 years experience ranging in Financial Services, Energy, and Retail collection sectors.

Walter recently served as Director of Collections and Default Prevention at the publicly traded First Marblehead Corporation (FMD). In his role at First Marblehead, Walter was directly responsible for the Default Prevention performance of significant Private Student Loan portfolios on behalf of many of our nation’s largest Private Student Loan Trusts as well as some of the largest and most prestigious world wide banks. In this role Walter additionally served as a member of The Portfolio Management Senior Leadership Group responsible for developing strategy and implementation of business development initiatives.

Prior to Walter’s time with First Marblehead, he served as the New England Region Collections Manager for JP Morgan Chase Bank’s Custom Finance Division. In this role he directly contributed to the first New England region footprint of BankOne, which subsequently became JP Morgan Chase Bank through merger. At BankOne and Chase Walter directly managed the New England Region Custom Finance Collections Division as well as served as a member of the management leadership team for the New England Region Custom Finance Division.

“Walter’s vast industry experience and long list of process improvements has optimized collection portfolios for some of the largest and most impressive financial institutions. To be able to leverage his industry knowledge on behalf of our clients is a true strategic advantage for FHC.  Walter is an expert in custom portfolio management strategies and the implementation of process improvements to maximize recoveries. Bringing Walter on board is a tremendous win for all involved, ” said Frank H Cann, Jr., President and CEO of F.H. Cann and Associates.

“I cannot put into words how excited I am to join the leadership team at FHC and be given the opportunity to directly contribute to the future success of such a dedicated organization. This company is filled with people who are committed to providing our clients with the highest level of service. We truly have the staff, the ability, and opportunity, to do some really special things” said Walter Steele, COO, F. H. Cann and Associates.

He continued, “By blending our collective experience, FHC has positioned itself to take full advantage of the next evolutionary step in the ARM Industry. The future of the ARM industry is all about “value add” for a client. It is about providing clients exceptional value in a full suite of Receivables Management services. It is about how we are able to customize everything we do for our client’s optimal performance. These are the tactical advantages we provide to our clients”.

FHC specializes in building strategic relationships with clients at every level of their financial portfolio’s delinquency lifecycle. Walter added, “Our goal is to not simply optimize our internal processes for performance, but also provide services to optimize our client’s internal processes for performance as well. It is a true partnership with our clients. At the end of the day, it is all about our commitment to exceed every client’s expectations and the ability to produce exceptional results in all aspects of the collections lifecycle”.

F.H.Cann and Associates is a full service debt collection and receivables management firm providing services for Recovery, Default Prevention, and Receivables Management Consulting. FHC is licensed and bonded in all fifty states.