Bank Leumi USA announced that it has hired Mario De Lecce and John Bryson to join the bank’s growing technology banking team and lead its U.S.-focused tech business, helping to expand the client base beyond tech companies with Israeli roots. De Lecce will serve as Group Head, U.S. Tech and joins Leumi from Wells Fargo; Bryson will be a Relationship Manager within the group and most recently worked at FastPay.

Leumi leads the Israeli technology banking sector globally under the LeumiTech brand, with more than 60% of the market share. Bank Leumi’s tech practice in the U.S., historically focused on Israeli technology companies and venture capital firms with a U.S. presence, has been growing quickly in recent years. Given the institution’s deep sector experience and comprehensive U.S.-based tech banking capabilities, the decision to broaden its focus to include non-Israel-related companies was a logical strategic next step for the bank. This initiative is expected to open up a new and growing market for Leumi as it reaffirms its role as one of the leading financial partners to the tech ecosystem.

“Our ability to attract top talent like Mario and John speaks to Leumi’s leadership in the tech space, and we’re excited to have them on board to help expand our offerings and the pool of companies we can serve,” said Shawn McGowen, Head of Commercial Banking. “This strategic expansion reflects our long-term commitment to supporting the U.S. tech sector under the direction of Eitan Sapir, Head of International and Technology Banking."

Mario De Lecce comes to Leumi with extensive experience building and running technology groups for corporate and commercial divisions of several large banks. Most recently, as a Director and Senior Relationship Manager at Wells Fargo, he established a Corporate Banking Technology, Media & Telecom (TMT) Group in New York, where he was instrumental in developing the bank’s brand through venture capital/private equity partnerships. At HSBC in San Francisco, he helped to form and build the bank’s nationwide large-cap TMT segment, closing more than $400M in new commitments and onboarding 10 new clients. De Lecce earned a BBA at the University of San Diego and an MBA at the SDA Bocconi School of Management in Milan.

John Bryson joins Leumi from FastPay, a financial technology platform providing credit and payment solutions to digital industries. As Director of Business Development there, he established the company’s financial solutions segment for the New York office and cultivated satellite channel partnerships in secondary markets. Prior to that, Bryson spent several years in senior account roles at Onswipe, MaxPoint Interactive and Interclick/Genome. Bryson holds a BA from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.

Leumi’s Commercial Banking division specializes in serving select industries, products and asset types in the U.S. middle market, including healthcare, media & entertainment, high tech, apparel and real estate. Its bankers focus on market areas with the most growth potential and work closely with a diverse roster of clients in each sector to develop custom solutions that best support their business needs.