Signature Bank announced that several new executive sales officers have joined Signature Financial LLC, the Bank’s specialty equipment finance subsidiary. The appointment of four new officers brings the total of Signature Financial’s direct sales team to 32 professionals nationwide.
Mark Murray, Dave Walter and Jason Wright were each named to the post of Vice President - Executive Sales Officer for Signature Financial’s equipment leasing and lending business while Devin Steele was appointed to the same post for the franchise finance business line.
Murray, who will be based in Minneapolis, brings greater than 25 years of finance experience to his new position. Most recently, he served as senior territory manager at Caterpillar Financial Services Corp. and FCC Equipment Financing, a division of Caterpillar. In these roles, he originated and negotiated large leases and loan transactions with construction contractors, establishing a strong expertise and market presence in this area. He also served in key finance lending roles at Cargill Leasing, GE Capital and US Bancorp. His specialty includes financing for the construction, aircraft and transportation sectors.
Walter, a 33-year finance veteran also joins from his role as a senior territory manager for 13 years at Caterpillar Financial Services Corp. and FCC Equipment Financing, where he managed retail and direct lending relationships for large customers in Oklahoma, West Texas, Nebraska and Kansas. During this time, he established a strong reputation in the construction equipment finance market. He also spent nearly 20 years at the CIT Group as regional sales manager and vice president, managing direct lending relationships in similar geographic areas from a diverse client base. Walter will be based in Wichita, Kan.
Wright has nearly 20 years of finance experience, including nearly four years previously spent at Signature Financial (from 2012-2015) as well as with Signature Financial’s management team at Capital One Equipment Finance for nearly a decade. Based in Chicago, Wright will originate business in Illinois and regions within Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigan. The Central Midwest has been his prime coverage area for years, where he focused on transportation, trucking and construction finance. Most recently, Wright was a regional vice president at LeasePlan USA, responsible for business development amongst the firm’s Fortune 1000 clients prior to rejoining Signature Financial.
Steele specializes in franchise finance and joins from Pacific Premier Franchise Capital (PPFC). As an account manager at PPFC, she was responsible for identifying and establishing lending relationships with restaurant franchisees across the country in more than 25 different brands and was charged with both originating and facilitating the closing of franchise finance transactions. Based in the Dallas area, Steele built a network of national relationships and contacts in the growing franchisee lending space.
“We continue to strengthen our sales officer network nationally with the appointment of these seasoned finance-focused professionals. These appointments will further enhance our already-strong presence in the construction, transportation and franchise arenas. We anticipate our construction finance business to continue growing as demand for equipment increases with greater national infrastructure rebuilding. In addition, our franchise finance direct business line, which commenced two years ago, has thrived. We expect to continue capitalizing on opportunities that expand our reach amongst established franchisees across recognized restaurant brands,” explained Walter Rabin, president and chief executive officer at Signature Financial.
“The significant construction equipment finance experience Mark and Dave bring is a natural fit for our business and will prove highly beneficial to Signature Financial. We welcome Jason back to his Signature Financial roots, where we know he is a proven leader and strong producer, particularly in the transportation sector. Devin will contribute to our ongoing franchise finance portfolio, where we concentrate on lending to proven restaurant concepts that continue to evolve and expand,” Rabin concluded.
“There are significant opportunities in the marketplace for us to expand the specialty finance side of our business, and we continue to capitalize on them. The appointment of these four new executive sales officers is indicative of the breadth and depth of experience available to us. We look forward to the contributions these individuals will make as we further diversify our balance sheet,” said Joseph J. DePaolo, president and chief executive officer at Signature Bank.