Hercules Capital, Inc., the largest and leading specialty finance provider to innovative, venture growth stage companies backed by some of the leading U.S. and top-tier venture capital and select private equity firms, today announced the appointment of Seth Meyer as Chief Financial Officer, effective March 4, 2019. Meyer will report directly to Manuel A. Henriquez, Hercules’ chairman and CEO. He replaces David Lund, who served as interim CFO for the prior 16 months and will continue to serve as a special consulting advisor to the Company through April 2019.
“Seth’s addition further strengthens our growing senior management team, as Hercules continues to expand its industry-leading venture lending platform, and as we also continue to evaluate multiple strategic acquisition opportunities,” said Henriquez. “The depth of Seth’s finance, treasury and capital markets experience, along with his technical and strategic level experience will certainly further bolster our already talented senior management team. I look forward to working closely with him not only on growing our current platform but expanding the platform for future growth as we evaluate many of these new potential strategic growth opportunities.”
Henriquez continued, “I’d also like to extend a sincere and grateful thank you to David Lund for stepping back in as our interim CFO. David has truly done an amazing job while at Hercules during which we have seen tremendous growth. David will be missed, and I wish him great success on his second retirement.”
Meyer joins Hercules with more than 25 years of international business management and strategic planning experience in the financial services industry. Most recently, he served as the CFO of Swiss Re’s Commercial Insurance business unit for over six years where he led a global finance team of approximately 200 professionals covering business development, M&A, strategic direction setting, financial planning & reporting, controlling and capital management. Mr. Meyer joined Swiss Re in 2000 and was appointed Group Tax Director in 2007, and then promoted to Finance Division Operating Officer in 2009, a position he held until appointed CFO in 2011. Prior to joining Swiss Re, he worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers as a Senior Tax Manager. Mr. Meyer began his finance career as a senior tax accountant at KPMG Peat Marwick.
“Hercules Capital is the undisputed leader in providing highly flexible debt capital solutions to innovative venture capital and private equity-backed companies,” said Meyer. “With a deep bench of high-quality talent combined with a diversified capital structure, the Company is well positioned to continue its growth trajectory and deliver consistent returns to its shareholders. I’m excited to partner with Manuel and the rest of the team and look forward to continuing to build on this outstanding brand.”
Meyer earned a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting and an M.B.A. from Michigan State University.