Runway Growth Capital is a leading provider of growth loans to both venture- and non-venture-backed companies seeking an alternative to raising equity. The firm serves as investment adviser to Runway Growth Finance Corp. (Nasdaq: RWAY), a publicly traded business development company (BDC), and to private investment funds. Together, those funds provide senior term loans generally ranging from $10 million to $150 million to fast-growing companies largely based in the United States and Canada, across technology, life sciences and healthcare, and select consumer sectors.
Carmela Thomson was recently named Chief Financial Officer of Runway Growth Capital, succeeding Tom Raterman, who served as CFO from the firm’s founding and now moves to Vice Chairman. Thomson joined Runway in June 2021 from KPMG as the firm’s first Vice President of Finance and Accounting, just months before the BDC’s public listing, and went on to help build a finance function that has kept pace as the public vehicle roughly doubled in size, growing from approximately $600 million in investments to about $1.2 billion today.
Pulse 2.0 interviewed Thomson to learn more about her new role and what comes next.
Carmela Thomson’s Background
When asked about her background and the path that led her to Runway, Thomson shared:
I spent nearly 10 years at KPMG before joining Runway, almost all of it in the firm’s Chicago Financial Services audit practice. My focus was banking and lending, and I served as lead senior manager on two of the practice’s largest banking audit engagements.
That experience gave me a strong grounding in integrated audits and the regulatory requirements that govern public financial institutions, including SEC reporting and Sarbanes-Oxley controls. I also served as the Chicago office’s continuous improvement champion, helping redesign the audit process to reduce inefficiencies, long hours, and budget overruns while improving overall audit effectiveness, an approach that was later adopted nationally.
I joined Runway in June 2021 as the firm’s first Vice President of Finance and Accounting. At the time, Runway was preparing to take its BDC, Runway Growth Finance Corp., public and wanted someone who understood the reporting and control environment that came with that transition.
I had spent my career working with financial institutions facing many of those same requirements from the audit side, so it felt like a natural next step and an opportunity to help build and scale Runway’s financial operations from within.
What drew me in beyond the technical fit was the business model and the people. I was attracted to Runway’s disciplined approach to supporting innovative companies while helping founders preserve ownership. Just as importantly, I saw a culture built around collaboration, integrity, and long-term thinking, which really resonated with me.
Transition To CFO
When asked how the opportunity to become CFO came together and how she would describe the transition, Thomson explained:
This was a thoughtful and well-planned succession. Tom Raterman served as Runway’s CFO from the firm’s founding until his transition to Vice Chairman, and I had the opportunity to work closely with him over the past five years.
We worked together through some important moments for Runway, including taking Runway Growth Finance Corp. public, executing several unsecured baby bonds and private placement offerings, and navigating the firm’s more recent strategic transactions. That shared experience made the transition a natural one and created a lot of continuity for the finance team.
In his role as Vice Chairman, Tom remains closely involved with the firm, focusing on strategic initiatives across the platform as well as continuing to serve as a member of the investment committee. I’m fortunate that we’ll continue to work closely together, and I greatly value the perspective and experience he brings to the organization.
I’m grateful for the confidence David, Tom, and the broader team have placed in me. I’ve been part of Runway for several years now and believe strongly in our credit-first approach and the culture we’ve built around it.
My goal as CFO is to build on what’s already working while making sure the finance function continues to evolve alongside the business.
Becoming A Public Company
When asked about a moment from her time at Runway that stands out, Thomson recalled:
One moment I keep coming back to is Runway Growth Finance Corp. becoming a public company. I had joined only a few months earlier, and helping put the reporting and control processes in place on a tight timeline was an intense effort.
There was a lot happening at once, so seeing it all come together was incredibly exciting and a great example of what the team could accomplish.
More broadly, I’ve really enjoyed seeing how much the finance and operations side of Runway has grown since I arrived. We have built a team and processes capable of supporting a much larger and more complex business, and it’s exciting to see how much we’ve accomplished and where we can go from here.
How The Finance Function Has Evolved
When asked how Runway’s finance function has evolved alongside the business, Thomson explained:
When I joined in 2021, I was the firm’s first dedicated Vice President of Finance and Accounting. Runway was growing quickly across its BDC and private funds, and the finance function needed to evolve along with the business.
A significant part of my early work focused on strengthening our financial reporting, processes, and controls to support the requirements of a regulated, soon-to-be-public BDC.
The public listing of Runway Growth Finance Corp. was an important milestone in that evolution. Operating as a public BDC raises the bar for financial reporting, controls, and investor communication, and we built the infrastructure to meet those expectations and continued strengthening it as the business grew.
More recently, two significant transactions have added another level of complexity and opportunity: Runway Growth Capital’s acquisition by BC Partners Credit, and Runway Growth Finance Corp.’s acquisition of SWK Holdings Corporation.
Those transactions have brought meaningful accounting integration and reporting responsibilities to the finance team. More broadly, our work extends well beyond accounting and reporting into capital markets and investor relations. Helping all of it keep pace with the growth and complexity of the business has been a defining part of my experience at Runway.
Leadership Approach
When asked what these experiences have taught her about leadership, Thomson said:
One thing I’ve learned throughout my career is the importance of getting the fundamentals right. Whether we were preparing for the public listing or working through the accounting integration associated with more recent transactions, there has always been pressure to move quickly.
But in finance, moving quickly only works if the underlying processes, controls, and people are strong.
My approach is to be deliberate about those fundamentals while also giving the team the context and support they need to do their best work. I believe in setting a high bar, but I also think collaboration matters. The strongest finance teams are not just technically sound; they are trusted partners to the rest of the business.
That is the mindset I bring to the CFO role. I want our team to be rigorous and reliable, but also approachable and focused on helping the business move forward.
Runway’s Growth Lending Model
When asked to describe what Runway does and the companies it works with, Thomson explained:
Runway is a credit-first growth lender. We provide senior term loans, generally ranging from $10 million to $150 million, to late- and growth-stage companies primarily in the United States and Canada that are looking for an alternative to raising additional equity.
The companies we work with tend to operate in technology, life sciences and healthcare, and select consumer sectors, and generally have proven business models with a clear path to profitability.
What I find compelling about the model is the alignment it can create. Our capital can help founders and early investors fund continued growth without taking on the dilution that comes with another equity round. At the same time, the loans are structured to generate current income for our investors, with the potential for additional upside through warrants.
We also conduct our own diligence rather than relying on which venture firms happen to be on a company’s cap table. That independent approach allows us to identify strong businesses that may not fit the profile other lenders are looking for.
What Distinguishes Runway
When asked what most distinguishes Runway, Thomson emphasized:
From where I sit, one of Runway’s defining qualities is discipline. We have always taken a credit-first approach, with an emphasis on careful underwriting and capital preservation. We are selective about where we deploy capital and intentional about the businesses we choose to support.
The other quality I would point to is partnership. Runway does not simply provide capital and step back. Our investment team takes the time to understand the businesses we support and works to be a genuine resource to management teams as they grow.
The last piece I would mention is the culture. People who spend time with our team, including investors who visit our offices, consistently remark on how collaborative we are. There are no big egos here. We work together to get the right deals done, with a shared focus on our credit-first approach and maximizing returns for our investors. I think that is a real part of what sets Runway apart.
For me, there is a strong connection between the way Runway invests and the way I think about finance. The same rigor, consistency, and long-term perspective we bring to underwriting are the standards we bring to the finance function.
Scale And Market Opportunity
When asked about the scale of Runway’s platform today and the opportunity ahead, Thomson said:
Runway has grown considerably over the past decade. We operate through our publicly traded BDC, Runway Growth Finance Corp., alongside our private funds, and the business today has greater scale and a broader set of capabilities than when I joined.
Runway Growth Finance Corp. alone has roughly doubled in size over that period, growing from approximately $600 million in investments to about $1.2 billion today.
What matters as much as size, though, is how that growth is managed. Runway has expanded while maintaining the credit-first philosophy that has defined the firm from the beginning.
As CFO, an important part of my role is making sure our financial infrastructure, from reporting and controls to how we manage our capital stack and cost of capital, can support that growth with the same level of rigor and consistency.
Priorities As CFO
When asked about her top priorities in the CFO role, Thomson explained:
My first priority is continuity. I want to make sure the transition from Tom continues to be seamless.
That means staying closely focused on the reporting work that has followed our recent transactions, as well as our ongoing capital markets activity and our relationships with lenders and investors, so momentum on every front continues without interruption.
Looking further ahead, I want to make sure the finance function continues to scale with the business and remains a strong partner to the broader organization.
Our focus is on strong execution and long-term value creation across the platform, while making sure investors have a clear understanding of our business and strategy. For our public vehicle, we also want that performance to be appropriately reflected in the market over time.
Building On A Strong Foundation
When invited to share anything else she would like people to know, Thomson concluded:
I would underscore how much credit belongs to Tom and to the broader team. The CFO role comes with a very strong foundation, one that so many of us have worked to build over the past decade, and I am proud to have been part of that effort.
My job is not to reinvent what is working; it is to build on that foundation and continue moving it forward.
I’m also genuinely excited about where Runway is headed. There is a lot of opportunity ahead for the firm and important work ahead for the finance team as we support that growth.
I feel fortunate to be in this role at such an important point in Runway’s evolution, and I’m looking forward to what comes next.
