Bibby Financial Services (BFS) announced the expansion of its executive leadership team with the addition of Todd Ferrara as Executive Vice President, Head of Change & Project Management – North America, Jeff Mitchell as Senior Vice President Business Development, Laura Benson as Vice President Underwriter, and Brian Albach as Vice President Business Development Officer. BFS continues to enhance its capabilities by seeking out high performers for these and other key roles in Business Development, Operations, Human Resources, Risk and Change.
Ferrara brings a diverse background and skill set with more than 15 years of process improvement, change management, project management, business analysis, human resources, business support and leadership strategy experience. Prior to BFS, he spent 14 years at Bank of America where he served in various roles across the enterprise, including Senior Vice President of Operations and Process Improvement for the Legal, Compliance and Regulatory Relations team. Ferrara’s role within BFS involves overseeing the strategic initiatives for North American business units, including governance and strategy of the HR function, as well as working on the four-year strategic plan.
Mitchell, well known for his work in the asset-based lending (ABL) industry, brings more than 27 years of commercial finance and banking experience to BFS from both bank and privately-held commercial finance companies. His professional experience includes the position of Business Development Manager at Crestmark Bank for the state of Florida, and recent senior executive experience at Action Capital in Atlanta. Mitchell is responsible for further expanding the BFS ABL business in the Southeast.
Benson joins BFS as Vice President of Underwriting. In this critical role, she will work as a member of the deal team, assisting Business Development and working closely with Risk and Portfolio Management in the underwriting and approval of ABL deals throughout the United States and Canada. She will also oversee the structure and underwriting of complex factoring transactions. Benson brings to BFS more than 20 years of broad experience offering a practical working knowledge of asset-based lending, corporate and commercial finance. Most recently she served as a Vice President in underwriting at Citizens Bank in Boston.
Albach returns to BFS Midwest as Vice President, Business Development Officer with more than 20 years of experience in financial services in multiple industries. Albach most recently was a Vice President for The Park National Bank where he was responsible originating and closing new business in the factoring and ABL space while managing internal and external referral relationships. For BFS, Albach will utilize his knowledge and experience of commercial finance to focus on providing working capital for rapidly growing, turnaround, and start-up companies in a variety of industries.
“The additions we’ve made to our executive level and mid-level personnel are a testament to Bibby Financial Services’s continued growth in and commitment to the North American region,” said Ian Watson, Chief Executive Officer of Bibby Financial Services for North America. “We take great pride in serving the diverse industries and business structures in the United States and Canada and see these hires as an integral part of our expansion strategy.”
Bibby Financial Services is a leading independent financial services partner to more than 9,500 businesses worldwide providing more than $1 billion in funding globally. With over 40 operations in 14 countries spanning Europe, North America and Asia, we provide asset-based lending and factoring solutions to help businesses grow in domestic and international markets.