Rich Stoltenborg might have gotten his start in the accounts receivable management industry by accident, but it’s no accident that he’s stayed this long and progressed this far. You have to admire anyone who is so dedicated to his job that he spends up to an hour a day teaching himself SQL and Power BI. Read on to learn more about Rich, why you may see him owning his own restaurant someday, and which movie he has seen more than 25 times.
Name: Rich Stoltenborg
Current Role/Job Title: Director of Compliance
Company: Resident Interface
Length of time at current company: 10 years
Length of time in industry: 11 years
How did you get your start in the industry?
Accidentally. I was attending a job fair early in 2012 and I started a conversation with a collection manager, who said I would be a good fit for their company. I was eager to start a career and accepted; it turned out I was a pretty decent collector. I ended up loving the job and the industry. Eventually, I made the transition from collector to compliance and have been there ever since.
What is your career highlight so far?
I’m very proud of how exceptionally I’ve excelled at internal and external audits.
When or how are you most productive?
At night or on weekends. I get very easily distracted by Teams or e-mails coming in and responding to those, adding in meetings, and I work better when no one else is working.
Which industry professional do you admire most?
Over the last few years, I’ve had opportunities to work with some incredible people who were able to share their experience and knowledge. These are the ones who I admire most, the people that are always willing to share what they know to help further others in the industry. That is also what I strive to be.
What is one thing you do better than everyone else?
I’ve always been good at researching different topics and documenting pertinent information.
What do you like most about this industry?
There is never a dull moment. Something is always going on, changing, or just a new interpretation of a law.
What is one thing you wish you could change about this industry?
The level of education that the average person has about debt and how the collection industry works. Have you searched debt management or collections on TikTok recently? Yikes.
If you weren’t in this industry, what would you be doing?
I like to think that I would have continued working in restaurants and eventually worked my way up to owning and operating one of my own. This is something that I have always wanted to do and might still (after I win the lottery).
Describe a typical work day
This is probably the hardest question on this list since I rarely have a typical day anymore. I normally try to start my day by checking e-mails and drinking coffee. After that I will move on to reading articles about what is going in the industry and case summaries, looking for anything that might be important and impact the company. I will then move on to working on any of the projects currently in my list. I try to save at least 45-60 minutes a day for working on learning SQL or Power BI, since those are both incredible tools that my team is now using to enhance our internal reporting.
What is your guilty pleasure?
“Mamma Mia!” I’ve probably seen the movie well over 25 times, but it always makes me smile.
What is the best advice you’ve ever received?
I have two for this, and both are important things to remember.
“There is a place beyond the stars that your heart alone can reach.” – Brennan Lee Mulligan.
“No matter where you are, physically or mentally, someone out there loves you. I know I do.” – Matthew Mercer
What are you currently reading?
“Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil” by Drew Karpyshyn. If you even remotely enjoy Star Wars or Science Fiction, I strongly recommend this series.
What is one fact you’d like everyone in the industry to know about you?
I am not exaggerating when I say that I would LOVE to hear about your D&D characters and read the 15-page backstory you wrote but never shared with anyone.
Who else would you like to see answer these questions?
Jeff Gartland