The “Getting to Know” series is sponsored by Applied Innovation. Applied Innovation is helping to shape the future of accounts receivable management. Product development is driven by customer feedback, agency profitability and compliance and includes platforms addressing client portal access, document management, payment negotiation, Regulation E focused electronic payment authorizations and TCPA communication authorization platforms. Partner with a company who understands your business challenges and evolves to provide cutting edge technology to overcome those challenges and achieve success.
Do you have an “attack strategy” for your days? Unifund’s Kacey Rask does. Knowing what she wants to accomplish every day is a primary reason why she has been able to rise through the ranks of the industry and someone who is looked to for advice and guidance. Read on to learn more about Kasey, her drink of choice for solving all of the world’s problems, and what she cherishes most about her time in the ARM industry.
Name: Kacey Rask
Current Role/Job Title: VP, Portfolio Servicing
Company: Unifund CCR, LLC
Length of time at current company: Two years
Length of time in industry: 12 years
How did you get your start in the industry?
I started at The National List of Attorneys assisting Financial Institutions and Debt Buyers in building out legal strategies.
What is your career highlight so far?
Too many special moments make it hard to select just one highlight, but I’d have to say what I cherish the most are the friendships that I’ve built over the years.
When or how are you most productive?
I call this the “sweet spot” of my day and typically is around 9 am after I’ve gotten through my emails and two cups of coffee. I always try to give myself 30 minutes (uninterrupted) to plan out my day. Email and to-do lists can get daunting, and I learned early in my career from an industry mentor to be successful you need to plan your day with an “attack strategy”. I’ve found it very successful for me to stay organized and meet both personal and professional goals.
Which industry professional do you admire most?
Carrie McQuerrey-Funk is someone whom I’ve always looked up to. She’s confident, bold, unwavering, and always involved in our industry. I remember seeing her speak on a panel with the utmost confidence and knowledge about our industry and her passion really inspired me. I’m lucky through the years that she’s become a dear friend and mentor.
What is one thing you do better than everyone else?
Sometimes the hardest compliments to give are to yourself; so I’ll call out the two that people give me the most. 1.) My welcoming personality and 2.) My North Dakota accent. Personally I don’t hear it, but there’s not one meeting I’ve been in where someone in the industry hasn’t said “Don’t ya know I love your North Dakota accent”.
What do you like most about this industry?
We are a family who work together for the betterment of our industry.
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What is one thing you wish you could change about this industry?
I believe there’s a misperception about our industry that we are “just debt collectors”. The financial recovery industry supports businesses in their recovery efforts, yes, but we also help in providing business intelligence to ensure that businesses aren’t trying to collect from consumers who do not have the means to pay through account selection and decisioning. Our industry has built alternative payment solutions that work with consumers in finding their financial freedom path.
If you weren’t in this industry, what would you be doing?
Teaching, 100%. I’ve always had a passion for coaching and teaching.
Describe a typical work day
Mandatory coffee before I open my email. But once my day gets started, it’s typically focused around our servicing client’s needs and staying connected with them. Onboarding with new clients, and outreach to potential clients. With the needs of clients it means staying connected (remote) with my teammates in our Cincinnati office.
What is your guilty pleasure?
Bravo tv… Yes, I am obsessed with all things Bravo from Housewives to Below Deck (guilty pleasure that I typically don’t admit to).
What is the best advice you’ve ever received?
There’s nothing that can’t be solved over a glass of wine.
What are you currently reading?
“Where the Crawdads Sing“, by Delia Owens (please don’t ruin it as I know the movie is out, but I’m old school and went book first).
What is one fact you’d like everyone in the industry to know about you?
I’m proud to be a small piece of this industry and the strides we’ve made in navigating intense scrutiny.
Who else would you like to see answer these questions?
Carri McQuerrey-Funk
The “Getting to Know” series is sponsored by Applied Innovation. Applied Innovation is helping to shape the future of accounts receivable management. Product development is driven by customer feedback, agency profitability and compliance and includes platforms addressing client portal access, document management, payment negotiation, Regulation E focused electronic payment authorizations and TCPA communication authorization platforms. Partner with a company who understands your business challenges and evolves to provide cutting edge technology to overcome those challenges and achieve success
Wonderful interview. The audible book of crawdsds is wonderful