Senior Leadership Team Biographies
Patrick MacKrell, President and CEO
Patrick (Pat) MacKrell is president and CEO of Pursuit. Prior to joining Pursuit in 2001, Pat practiced commercial and banking law in New York, representing a number of financial institutions and businesses. Pat is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps and served at a number of posts and stations prior to his release from active duty as a Major. He is a graduate of York College of the City University of New York and Albany Law School and is admitted to practice law in the state and federal courts in New York State.
Pat is a member of numerous boards including The New York State Small Business Development Center Advisory Board and the New York State Economic Development Council.
Owen Burns, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
In his role, Owen oversees the accounting, human resources and information technology departments and is responsible for all financial reporting and corporate tax and insurance matters.
Mr. Burns joined Pursuit in February 2000, as an intern, while pursuing an undergraduate degree in accounting from Siena College. He began his full-time employment with Pursuit as accountant in June 2001, while continuing to pursue his degree from Siena. He graduated from Siena College in May 2005 with a BBA in accounting.
Owen has served in various departments within Pursuit, including time as a staff accountant, World Trade Center fund program manager and credit analyst. In December 2007, he was elected assistant vice president. In March 2009, Owen was named acting controller, and shortly after to vice president and controller. In December 2011, he was elected to his current position of senior vice president and chief financial officer.
Steven Cohen, President, Pursuit Community Finance
Steven Cohen is president of Pursuit Community Finance. Prior to joining Pursuit in 2015, Steven was executive vice president and deputy commissioner at Empire State Development, where he led the Department of Small Business Services and Community Economic Development. Under his leadership, the agency launched new access to capital and business advisory programs totaling over $200 million, leveraging $1 billion in private investment.
Steven also previously served as senior vice president for Seedco Financial Services where he worked in executive management and economic development, as well as loan portfolio management. He also founded and ran a music production company in San Francisco.
Steven has a bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley and a master’s in public administration from Harvard’s Kennedy School.
Jim Conroy, Regional President, Upstate New York and Pennsylvania
James (Jim) J. Conroy, III serves as Regional President for Pennsylvania and Upstate New York at Pursuit. Prior to joining the Pursuit team, Jim was an economic developer in Albany County. During this time, he was responsible for business retention activities, led numerous redevelopment programs and assisted in the re-constitution of the Albany County Al Tech Loan Fund.
Jim received his B.A from Siena College and his MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps and served in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Jim has been involved in several charities and non-profit organizations including the Rensselaer County Chamber of Commerce, Catholic Charities Community Caregivers, St. Anne Institute Foundation, Wildwood Foundation, LaSalle School for Boys, Girls Inc. of the Greater Capital District, and Mater Christi Church. Jim resides in Albany, NY with his wife, Karen.
James J. Goldrick, Regional President for Long Island and Metro New York
James J. Goldrick is Senior Vice President and Regional President for Metro New York and Long Island at Pursuit. In his role, Jim oversees more than a dozen staff members whose mission is to promote employment and economic development in New York State through long term loans to creditworthy businesses.
James has more than 20 years of banking and finance experience having previously worked for Prudential Securities, Chase Manhattan Bank and M&T Bank. James obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from St. John’s University in Jamaica, NY. He received formal credit training at Chase Manhattan Bank.
In addition to his role with Pursuit, James serves as a director of the Long Island Chapter of the Risk Management Association and is an active member of the Commercial Industrial Brokers Society, Long Island Business Development Council, the Richard J. O’Brien Foundation and St. Anthony’s Father’s Guild. James resides in Syosset, NY with his wife, Carol, and three children: James, Thomas and Victoria.
Andrew Linehan, Executive Vice President and Head of Credit Administration
As Head of credit administration, Andrew oversees the loan underwriting team. In this role, he reviews all loan reports for adequacy and compliance and maintains the current credit policy and makes recommendations for future change. Andrew has more than thirty-five years of banking and lending experience and has held numerous titles including commercial credit manager and vice president before joining Pursuit in 1994.
Andrew is a graduate of Siena College with a B.S. in Finance. He has successfully completed banking courses through American Institute of Banking, Robert Morris Associates and Colgate Darden Graduate School.
He is a prior board member of the Albany County Empire Zone, past president of the Siena College Alumni Association and prior board member of several charitable organizations in the Capital District. He is an active runner and founder of the Pine Bush Triathlon.
Tom McHale, Regional President, Hudson Valley and New Jersey
Tom serves as Regional President for Pursuit. He began working for NYBDC in 1997 after graduating with a B.A. in Economics from the University at Albany. His current role, which he has had since 2010, includes managing a team of lenders in the nine county Hudson Valley Region as well as all of New Jersey. Tom has completed numerous lending courses and received his MBA in 2013. He is a Board Member and active volunteer for Junior Achievement of Northeastern NY and the Clifton Park Soccer Club.
Lessa Naimo-Fredette, Senior Vice President and General Counsel
As general counsel, Leesa oversees and operates the legal department and all legal matters for the company. This includes ensuring that all loan closings for Pursuit met the required regulations. Prior to becoming a member of the Pursuit team in 2011, Leesa worked in a private practice and specialized in small business development and growth.
Leesa is a graduate of Russell Sage College and obtained her Doctor of Law degree from Albany Law School. She is admitted to practice in the State of New York, the Northern District of New York, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the State of Florida. Leesa also holds an MBA from Union College.
Nancy Reinhart, Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer
Nancy oversees the legal, accounting, special assets, loan processing and loan servicing teams at Pursuit. She is also responsible for helping implement the Pursuit internship program that began under her direction in the late 1990s.
Prior to joining Pursuit in 2003, Nancy served as a vice president at Hudson River Bank and Trust where she was responsible for the organization’s commercial credit management, administration and information technology. Nancy is a graduate of West Virginia Wesleyan College where she received her B.A. in business administration and sociology.
