CIT Group Inc. announced its Equipment Finance business, part of the Business Capital division, has hired new business development leaders for the Northeast, West and Southwest regions.

Wayne Wagner, Mark Johnson and JP DeStefano join CIT as Vice Presidents for Business Development on the Industrial team, where they will be responsible for developing dealer relationships throughout the Northeast, West and Southwest, respectively. All will report to Harold Ray, who directs industrial finance for the Equipment Finance business.

“Industrial companies depend on bankers with the agility and expertise to provide the financing they need to compete and grow,” Ray said. “I am pleased to welcome Wayne, Mark and JP to our team of experienced equipment finance professionals.”

The Industrial group within CIT’s Equipment Finance business provides lending and leasing services primarily to construction, material handling, transportation and manufacturing companies.

Wagner joins CIT after most recently serving as a Vice President in the equipment finance division at Bank of the West. He brings extensive experience in working with the construction and material handling industry sectors. Earlier in his career, he was a Vice President in Middle Market Equipment Finance for TCF Leasing.

Johnson comes to CIT from Engs Commercial Finance, where he served as national program manager. He brings more than 15 years of experience in industrial financing, having worked with both Engs Commercial and Bank of the West.

DeStefano most recently served as National Sales Manager at Summit Funding. He has more than 10 years of industrial financing experience in the field, having earlier worked in business development positions with Equify Financial and Ritchie Brothers.

CIT’s Equipment Finance business works with manufacturers, distributors, resellers, dealers and systems integrators to finance their equipment, software and services to commercial customers. CIT's Business Capital division empowers small and mid-size businesses by providing equipment financing solutions via technology-enabled platforms and market leading structuring expertise.