Bank of the West announced the appointment of Paul Knowlton as vice president and national program manager in its Equipment Finance Division, replacing Dave Johnson who is retiring this year. In his new role, Knowlton is responsible for developing, implementing and growing vendor finance programs at the Bank, while working with manufactures and national distributors to grow sales and improve margins.

"We are excited that Paul has joined the team, as he brings a tremendous amount of experience in both equipment finance and banking," said James Elwood, managing director for the Vendor Finance Group at Bank of the West. "I am confident that Paul is the right person to succeed Dave, and to help continue the legacy of excellence that he leaves behind."

Knowlton began his Equipment Finance career with Textron Financial working with their Hunter Engineering finance program, and he has maintained close ties in the automotive aftermarket. He has held both sales and management roles within the industry and was most recently program manager of Equipment Finance at Union Bank.

Knowlton, a graduate of the University of Oregon, is a Certified Lease & Finance Professional and has served as President of the National Equipment Finance Association.