The rise of Pam Faulk-Turnbull, CCE: Pam Faulk-Turnbull never dreamed she would be working as a Credit Management Executive when she first came to the United States in 1969. When she first arrived as a British citizen, she was primarily involved in raising a family and not concerned about a professional career.(Member Profile)

However, she worked hard in subsequent years on her way up the ranks of the credit management ladder. Now an American citizen and Credit Manager of the packaging division of xpedx, a division of International Paper, a paper products distributor headquartered in Hayward, CA, Pam points to the education and certifications she received through NACM and the local affiliate as key factors in her success. Pam earned her CBA in 1988, her CBF in 1989 and her CCE in 1991.

Although she had worked in the accounting field in England before coming to the United States, Pam said, "When I went out trying to find a job for myself, it was obvious I needed some training." She took refresher courses in accounting to sharpen her professional skills, and ended up working for a paper products company in its credit department, "simply because it was available and I needed to get a job." There, she said, "I did collections and I was good at it."

She thought opportunity was knocking for a significant rise in job status but that never materialized. The company for which she worked merged with another company and she believed she was well positioned for a promotion. "I had thought I was going to be given the Assistant Credit Manager position," she said. However, her hopes were dashed when she did not get the position. "At that point T was unhappy about the whole thing."

During this time an executive who had served as her mentor advised her to attain her professional certifications as a way to become more skilled and valuable as a Credit Management Professional. In 1984 she was hired as a Collector for Unisource. While there, she got her CBA and CBF certifications and continued to Cook for a job as a Credit Manager.

Then, in 1988, Pare got a job in the credit department for a company called Seaboard Paper. "They were extremely pleased with me," she said. "They gave me a raise in six months." However, after learning that Seaboard was going to move its credit department from the San Francisco area to Los Angeles, Pam said, "I decided I should make my exit."

She got a job with O.J. Paper, but after working there for just nine months, she was offered the position of Credit Manager for Unisource, she noted. "They gave me an offer I couldn't refuse." She worked for Unisource from 1994-1999 where she said, "I had a great department and it went beautifully." Perhaps things went too smoothly, because Faulk-Turnbull added, "It went so well, I started getting bored."

Finally, she ended up in her current position with xpedx. (The company name, in all smart letters, has an interesting visual presentation, she noted. "If you put it on paper and ...