Title: Director
Firm: Fitch Ratings
Age: 39
Richard Park graduated with a triple degree in finance, marketing and communications from Boston College and went straight to work at Fitch Ratings in the firm's structured finance group working on residential mortgage-backed securities as an analyst.
"It was interesting because the market was collapsing and I watched it all unfold right in front of my eyes," said Park. "Eventually there was a very large drop in the pipeline and activity dried up."
Fitch relocated Park into its public finance group and then ultimately its health care group in 2017.
"I enjoy being part of the non-profit health care side of things, seeing caring for patients is mixed with operations and margin generation. Each hospital has a back story that's interesting to learn," Park said.
One of Park's first mentors was Trudy Zibit, who oversaw the muni structured finance team. Park credits her with teaching him everything he needed to know about bank supported ratings, legal structures, tender option bonds and the analysis behind every deal.
Kevin Holleran, head of Park's current team, also left a big impression on him. "He has been an enormous impact in shaping my career for nearly a decade now," Park said.
Park is excited about the future in his field because the nation is faced with caring for an aging population and many changes to the health care system. "It's an ever-changing industry with new challenges, but overall, I love that we are supporting the public and you can't help but feel good about making a difference in the world we live in," said Park.
