Myra A. Thomas

Metro NYC area
Website: www.myrathomas.com
Contact

Professional Experience

Worked with top consulting firms, global banks, major insurers, fintechs, other technology firms, top universities, governmental agencies, custom publishers, and media organizations to develop compelling content with a strong narrative. Provided companies with superior content that aligned with their vision and goals. Handled thought leadership strategy by determining, researching, and writing content for case studies, white papers, webinars, talking points, presentations, and blog content for consulting organizations, fintechs, financial institutions, private equity firms, insurers, and other corporations. Developed content for leading companies and business schools, including BNP Paribas, EY, Marsh, New York Life, Wells Fargo, University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business (Knowledge@Wharton), Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, and many others. Worked as an editor and journalist, regularly covering financial services, fintechs, and other technology firms. Expert knowledge in the payments

Expertise

Editor
27 Years
Researcher
28 Years
Writer
28 Years

Specialty

Finance
26 Years
Business (general)
28 Years
Technology
23 Years

Industries


Marketing (in-house) - Fortune 1000 corp. clients
20 Years
Online/new media
28 Years
Magazine - Trade magazines/publications (B2B)
27 Years

Total Media Industry Experience

28 Years

Media Client List (# assignments last 2 yrs)

The Secured Lender Magazine (10+), Thomson Reuters (10+), Careers In Finance Markets (10+), Dice.com (10+), EFinancialCareers.com (10+), Emory Business Magazine (10+), FSO Magazine (10+), JobsInTheMoney.com (10+), Knowledge@Emory (10+), President & CEO Magazine (6-10), Publishers Weekly (6-10), Middle Market Growth Magazine (10+), Strategic Finance Magazine (1-2), BankNews Magazine (1-2), Emory Lawyer Magazine (3-5), ALM (10+)

Corporate Client List (# assignments last 2 yrs)

Media Organizations (10+), Global Banking (10+), Trampsteamer Media (10+), Undisclosed/Top Auditing firms (10+), Undisclosed/Top Finance firms (10+), Fintech (10+), Consulting firms (10+), Private Equity (10+), Tech firms (10+), Asset-based Lenders and Factors (10+), Alternative Finance (10+)

Other Work History

Thought Leadership Senior Strategy Consultant, Wells Fargo, New York, New York (9/22-8/23); Senior Editor, Group SJR (part of WPP), New York, New York (7/21-8/22); Managing Editor, FSO Magazine (Financial Services Outsourcing Magazine), Manalapan, New Jersey (4/07-9/08); Regional Editor, NJ Biz, New Brunswick, NJ (5/97-5/98); Online Editor/Writer, NJ Biz, New Brunswick, NJ (1/97-4/97); Prior Finance/Business Experience: Held the AVP post at an insurance intermediary for Lloyd's of London, serving as their senior underwriter for one of the leading commercial insurers. Analyzed financial statements, including 10-Ks and more. Drafted proposals and worked on contracts to ensure reinsurance treaty renewals.

Technical Skills

Financial Research & Competitive/Industry Analysis

Computer Skills

Word, Excel, Powerpoint

Work Permits & Visas

U.S. citizen

References

References available upon request, including magazine editors & corporate clients

Awards

Fellowship recipient, The Society of Environmental Journalists (2004 and 2005) Fellowship recipient, National Conference of Editorial Writers (May 2002) First Place Award for Investigative Journalism, Working Press Association of New Jersey, A Thrift Tug of War, the cover story in the June 16, 1997 issue of BUSINESS NEWS New Jersey (6/98) First Place Award for a Business & Economic Series, New Jersey Press Association, Compensating Downsized Workers & Towns, in the June 12, 1996 issue of The Suburban newspaper (4/97)

Associations

Society of Environmental Journalists Society of American Business Editors & Writers

Showcase

GENERAL

How a government struggling with debt navigated towards a brighter future
(EY Parthenon 4/1/2022)
By the time the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico filed for bankruptcy in 2017, the island was struggling under a complex web of US$70 billion in debt issued by more than a dozen government entities and had virtually no money set aside to fund its US$55 billion pension liability. EY professionals helped Puerto Rico exit bankruptcy and created a solid foundation for future economic growth and opportunity.
ISO 20022: Exploring the impact of a new data structure on the payments ecosystem
(Wells Fargo 1/1/2023)
ISO 20022 enables the seamless exchange of financial transaction data through a standardized messaging schema that introduces a more robust data structure.
Dealing with the Volatility of Commodities
(The Secured Lender Magazine 11/1/2023)
Commodity producers face volatile market swings due to factors such as macroeconomics and supply chain stability, creating risks for secured lenders.
Year-end LIBOR Phase Out to Require Automation
(Bank Automation News 5/24/2021)
U.S. banks are looking to automation to aid in the year-end phaseout of the London Interbank Offer Rate (Libor) and to comply with a not-so-friendly push from the Federal Reserve to do so by Dec. 31.
Private Equity and Its Response to COVID-19
(The Secured Lender Magazine 10/1/2020)
The onset of the pandemic has certainly changed the fundraising and investing landscape for private equity and other types of alternative financing. While most acknowledge that the lack of face-to-face meetings has made the fundraising process and due diligence on deals more difficult, the private equity industry and its related players remain a resilient lot. Even with the country’s shutdown and the resulting economic problems, private equity firms are prioritizing their existing portfolios, working to figure out ways to shore up these companies.
Private Equity Sees Profit Potential in Malls
(Middle Market Growth Magazine 5/8/2018)
To say that the American mall is dead is a gross exaggeration. While many shopping centers across the country are struggling, so-called Class A mall real estate, typically in densely populated major metropolitan areas with attractive demographics and innovative concepts, is doing well and piquing investor interest.
Scholarly research can be vital for running a business
(Emory Business 1/14/2019)
It’s not every day a research paper sparks a stock sell-off on Wall Street. The reverberations began shortly after Daniel McCarthy, assistant professor of marketing, and his co-author Peter Fader, a professor of marketing at Wharton, published a journal article exploring the valuation of two e-commerce companies, Wayfair and Overstock.com. Using a methodology they named customer-based corporation valuation,” or CBCV, the researchers produced valuations on contractual and non-contractual companies based on customer value. This method is particularly useful for companies that rely heavily on returning customers or subscription models.
Managing Financial Risk in a Volatile Global Environment
(Knowledge@Wharton 2/2/2000)
As Asian countries, such as Korea and Thailand, slowly recover from their financial collapse of some two years ago, the debate continues as to whether private sector financing or public sector support should be used to shore up the troubled economies of emerging-market countries.
Book Review: Collateral Damaged: The Marketing of Consumer Debt to America
(Publishers Weekly 6/29/2009)
In this exhaustive study of the credit card industry, author Geisst (Undue Influence) delivers a scathing critique of the routine practices that led to the current consumer debt crisis.
When Formal Controls Undermine Trust and Cooperation
(Strategic Finance Magazine 1/1/2008)
The increased use of formal controls in today's business environment may have an unintended consequence: the erosion of trust between management and employees. This study examines the effects that various types of organizational controls have on employee trust and cooperation.
Did Bear Stearns Deserve a Taxpayer-Backed Bailout?
(Knowledge@Emory, the online publication of Emory University's Goizueta Business School 4/9/2008)
The move to use a $29 billion guarantee from the Treasury Department for ailing Bear Stearns was an unprecedented taxpayer-backed bail out. Professors from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School discuss whether or not taxpayer funds should be used to prop up an investment firm.
Sutherland Drives Revenue for Equifax’s New Target Market
(FSO Magazine 10/1/2007)
For financial firms today, tapping into new markets is essential. But introducing new product lines to newly identified target markets can be a time consuming and costly process. A skilled business process outsourcing (BPO) partner can often be the solution for a job in need of scalability and flexibility. For Equifax®, one of the U.S.’s largest credit reporting agencies, bringing Sutherland Global Services, a multi-national BPO, into the mix, helped to provide the right answer.

General

Your Client’s Cybersecurity Threat Is Your Threat Too
(The Secured Lender Magazine 1/1/2020)
The specter of cybercrime haunts every industry, but none more so than financial services. If there is considerable money involved or sensitive client data to steal, then there is certainly some cybercriminal looking for a financial firm to target. As secured lenders step up their efforts to secure their own systems and data, there is a growing understanding of the complexity of that task. Asset-based lenders and factors are increasingly aware that their cybersecurity procedures must be ongoing and dynamic to thwart a network intrusion and to quickly shut down and mitigate a hack if it does happen.
What Attracts Talent to the Table?
(Emory Business Magazine 1/9/2018)
Is the time of the employee close at hand? After more than 20 years of downsizing, offshoring, buyouts, and innovation setting fire to traditional rules of the workplace, things are looking up for experienced, in-demand professionals. Many economic trends are on the uptick, and the unemployment rate continues to drop, from 8.2 percent in July 2012 to 4.3 percent in July 2017. For workers with specialized skills, the job market is ripe with opportunity.
Sovereign Wealth Funds Spell Opportunity for Private Equity
(Middle Market Growth Magazine 1/25/2017)
With considerable assets at their disposal, sovereign wealth funds are fast becoming a growing source of capital for private equity— good news for middle-market PE funds. These state-owned investment vehicles, focused on returns to boost the economies of their home countries, tend to be long-term institutional investors with diverse investment portfolios.
Life insurance in a low interest rate environment
(LifeHealthPRO 9/15/2016)
Low interest rates might be good for homebuyers, but that just isn’t the case for the average investor. For insurance agents, your current and prospective clients may not be financial experts, but they do know what low interest rates mean to them – and will be looking for advice on where to put their money to work hard for them. Life insurance can be a smart way to do just that, but as the advisor, you’ll need to explain its value.
Are Employee Affinity Groups Worth the Effort?
(Dice.com 2/12/2016)
Your company might call it an employee resource group (ERG), affinity group, or network. No matter what the name, the goal is supposed to be the same: a social and professional network for people with a common background. But just because there’s a group of similar people meeting in a room doesn’t necessarily mean they’re going to get something out of it. Not all employee resource groups are created equal.
Holistic Skills Boost Value of SAP Professionals
(Dice.com 5/12/2014)
Experienced SAP professionals would be well-served to take on a hybrid role that straddles the line between technology and business.
How Talent As A Competitive Advantage May Finally Break The Glass Ceiling
(Knowledge@Emory 10/23/2002)
Today, the number of minority and women CEOs still remain few and far between in Corporate America. But a growing number of them have nonetheless taken center-stage by heading up some of the most well-known and largest companies in the US.
Credit Crunch Provides Opportunities for Disciplined ABLs and Factors in 2009
(The Secured Lender Magazine 2/1/2009)
Certainly, the current credit crisis is not a welcomed situation. Yet, asset-based lenders and factors are benefiting from the downturn and the pullback in more traditional lines of credit.
Not Your Grandfather's CFO
(President & CEO Magazine 8/1/2011)
The role of the CFO has rapidly changed in the past decade, propelled by M&A activity, quickly shifting economic sands, and heightened regulatory scrutiny.
Sandy---Six Months Later
(4/1/2013)
Community banking leaders respond to the challenges presented by Hurricane Sandy, as financial institutions fought to stay open and serve a community in need.
Sandy---Six Months Later Part 2
(BankNews Magazine 4/1/2013)
Community banking leaders respond to the challenges presented by Hurricane Sandy, as financial institutions fought to stay open and serve a community in need.