Robert Meyers, President of Republic Business Credit, was recently elected as President of the Secured Finance Network (SFNet), the essential resource for all organizations and professionals that deliver and enable secured finance to businesses.
Meyers got involved with SFNet in 2013 by planning an educational event for the SFNet Midwest Chapter. Over the next decade, he took on numerous volunteer roles, including chapter treasurer, vice president and president in 2016. Additionally, Meyers was elected to SFNet’s Executive Committee in 2016 and eventually the Management Committee in 2022.
One of Meyers’ biggest contributions to the organization was the creation of the organization’s national young professionals group: Emerging Leaders ( YoPros). Along with an incredible group of volunteers, Meyers helped launch the program in 2017. Meyers will apply this experience to achieve his goal of creating a larger, broader community to support SFNet members and accelerate access to capital.
“I want us to be a stronger, broader and a more inclusive community,” stated Meyers. “We are at the center of secured finance while needing to include more private credit funds, banks and factoring companies in our mission. We are a leader in advocacy at both the state and federal level for our members, whether that’s BASEL III, state financial disclosures or new licensing laws. The more robust our community is, the more impactful we will be not only to our members but, more importantly and the reason we are all here, to our clients.”
Rich Gumbrecht, CEO of SFNet, agrees. “We are seeing a rejuvenation of our members, including new members that support our expanded mission, contributing to our educational resources and partnering on advocacy initiatives. We want to keep this momentum going. Robert is very well respected in our community and is the perfect person to continue pushing our growth strategy forward, which benefits everyone in the secured finance ecosystem.”
Meyers has a long history in the secured finance field. After graduating from the University of Chicago in 2006, he began his career at a large, global independent factoring company before leading a management lead buyout of Republic Business Credit in 2016. He did so while earning his MBA from Northwestern University, which he received in 2017. Meyers is the president and managing member of Republic, overseeing the company’s sales, marketing and underwriting teams. Republic has seen consistent growth since 2016, having more than doubled the size of its team, adding three new products and now proudly serving clients in more than 30 states around the country. All this growth has accelerated since Republic became a wholly owned subsidiary of Renasant Bank in 2023, increasing its balance sheet and opening its Southeast office. In addition to SFNet, Meyers has maintained active memberships in the Turnaround Management Association and Young President’s Organization.
“Robert brings a passion and energy to everything that he does,” stated Stewart Chesters, CEO of Republic. “He has made significant contributions to our company, community and the SFNet organization, and we are excited for him to take on this leadership role within our largest global trade association. We are proud of Robert’s achievements and look forward to celebrating our industry successes together.”