Nicole Fende began her fast paced career in the actuarial field, working for Aetna Inc. based in Hartford, Connecticut. Her desire to work in the international field led Nicole to a position as a regional development resource for Aetna International’s South East Asia operations. 

At age 26 Nicole was named Vice President & CFO for Aetna Philippines, becoming the youngest CFO for the company. During her tenure at Aetna Philippines Nicole achieved a capital savings of nearly $1 million, implemented a cost effective reward scheme which substantially improved employee performance, and was the first non-Filipino to be accepted by the Actuarial Society of the Philippines.

After her tenure at Aetna Nicole moved to Hong Kong to work for ABN AMRO Asia Financial Services, focusing on the Banking and Insurance sectors in Asia. 

Ready for new challenges, Nicole embarked on developing a practice as an independent consultant serving small business owners. She founded Small Business Finance Forum with the mission to make finance and the knowledge of profit drivers accessible to all entrepreneurs and small business owners. Since its inception, the company has offered virtual courses, one-on-one consulting, published a book (How to be a Finance Rock Star written by Ms. Fende), and delivered workshops. Nicole has assisted businesses with pricing, risk management, cash flow management, funding, and CFO services.

From the beginning, Nicole wanted Small Business Finance Forum to be a socially responsible company. To that end she has donated her time to speak at the UP Non-Profit Conference for the past three years, donates one dollar to Kiva.org for every sale of her book, volunteers her time to be a mentor through the Women Entrepreneurs of Minnesota, serves on the board of the nonprofit Books on Wings, and is currently the Chair for the Entrepreneurial Actuary Section Council.

Nicole lives in Minnesota with her husband Paul, daughter Sarah, one hyper Irish Setter, and two lazy cats.