Santander builds up equipment leasing team

Cheryl Cohen joins Santander as senior vice-president and national business development officer for the healthcare industry. With more than 35 years in healthcare, she most recently served the industry providing equipment finance solutions at Wells Fargo and Pantheon Capital. Cohen also brings client-side experience, having worked as CFO of a mid-sized hospital chain and as director of finance for a large healthcare insurance system.

Michael Johnson is senior vice-president for the southeast market, based in Atlanta, and serves clients in Georgia, West Virginia and the surrounding states. He comes to Santander with more than 30 years of experience, including business development, credit and portfolio management roles in equipment finance and asset-based lending at SunTrust Bank, CIT, Bank United and GE Capital.

Thomas Linebarger is senior vice-president covering the Midwest markets for clients in Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana and Minnesota. Linebarger brings expertise in transportation and manufacturing, including the automotive industry, from a 30-year career in commercial banking and equipment finance with Merrill Lynch, Stonebriar and CIT.

Christopher Clark, based in Rochester, New York, joins the team as senior vice-president serving upstate New York and the northern New England assisting clients in Massachusetts, Vermont, and Connecticut. Clark brings more than 20 years of experience in the equipment finance industry, including a variety of roles in credit, underwriting, operations, and new business development at Wells Fargo, First Niagara, TCF and GE Capital.

Vincent Belcastro, Santander’s head of equipment financing and leasing, said: “We strive to differentiate from our peers by providing valuable ideas and solutions based on deep industry knowledge that is matched with a speed of execution that our clients value.

“Cheryl, Michael, Thomas and Christopher are seasoned equipment finance professionals that will help us continue to grow our client base across the U.S. with the highest caliber of execution and expertise to every client they serve.”