Encina Equipment Finance (EEF) announced Andy Brown, Katherine (Reichle) Branch and Beata Nicpon have joined the company in its Danbury, CT, headquarters as Senior Managing Director of Credit, Managing Director of Credit and Assistant Vice President of Operations, respectively.

EEF also announced the promotion of James Giaquinto, who joined the company in connection with its launch in June 2017, to Managing Director of Operations.

Brown will be responsible for helping to scale EEF’s underwriting and portfolio management functions. He spent 15-plus years at GE Capital, where he most recently served as Chief Credit Officer for the firm’s Working Capital Solutions business. Prior, he was General Manager of GE Capital’s corporate finance business in Australia and New Zealand. Brown also served in various senior underwriting and risk management roles in GE Capital’s domestic corporate finance business.

Branch also will be responsible for helping to scale EEF’s underwriting and portfolio management functions. She spent more than 16 years at GE Capital, where she most recently served as Vice President in the firm’s Energy Financial Services business. She previously served in various senior underwriting, portfolio management and workout roles in GE Capital’s corporate finance business.

Nicpon will be responsible for transaction documentation, funding and compliance. She spent 10-plus years in equipment finance, and she most recently served in a transaction coordination role at CIT. Prior thereto, she held various portfolio management, asset management and operations roles at GE Capital.

In connection with these personnel moves, Rick Matte, EEF’s President and Chief Commercial Officer, said, “We’re thrilled to have added executives of this caliber to our senior management team. Andy, Katie and Beata have exemplary track records and will contribute significantly to building out our underwriting, portfolio management and operations functions. Furthermore, Jamie has been instrumental in helping to establish EEF’s reputation as a highly dependable and user-friendly funding source, and his promotion is well-deserved.”

Launched in June 2017, Encina Equipment Finance provides loans and leases ranging in size from $5 million to $50 million and secured by essential-use machinery and equipment. The platform provides financing to both privately-owned (sponsor and non-sponsor) and publicly-traded companies across a wide range of collateral types, industries (including, but not limited to, construction, distribution, energy, food processing, health care, information technology, manufacturing, mining, paper & packaging, and transportation) and use cases (including loans against existing or newly-acquired assets, leases of newly acquired assets and sale-leasebacks of existing assets).