Hercules Technology Growth Capital, Inc. announced the appointment of Mark Harris as Chief Financial Officer of the Company, effective August 1, 2015.
In addition to leading Hercules’ finance and accounting groups, Harris will also oversee the company’s operations, investor relations and human resources teams. Harris will report directly to Manuel A. Henriquez, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hercules.
“We are excited and look forward to having Mark join Hercules and are confident that he will be an exceptional addition to our growing team,” Henriquez stated. “With 20 years of experience working with and within public companies, as well as his investment knowledge of the direct lending and mezzanine space as Portfolio Manager at Avenue Capital, Mark will play an integral role in helping me lead Hercules through the next stage of its evolution. Further, Mark’s global debt investment expertise will add depth to our originations platform and greatly benefit Hercules’ growth strategy. We believe we are well-positioned for continued success going forward, and I'm excited to work with Mark as we focus on creating shareholder value.”
For the past eight years, Harris served as the Chief Financial Officer of Avenue Capital Group’s Asia Strategy and was its Senior Managing Director/Head of Asia. Prior to working at Avenue Capital, Harris served as the Corporate Financial Controller for Hutchinson Telecommunications, a NYSE and Stock Exchange of Hong Kong-listed company. Before that, he was Vice President of Finance at Vsource, a NASDAQ-listed company, and served as a Manager in PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Global Capital Markets Group before joining Vsource.Harris earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business. He is also an active Certified Public Accountant in the state of California.
“I believe Hercules is by far the largest and most well-respected specialty finance company within the venture debt industry and possesses a long history of providing venture capital-backed companies with a broad range of flexible and customized financial solutions to help them meet their growth objectives,” said Harris. “I look forward to being a part of that tradition, and to helping Hercules continue to succeed and grow.”
Hercules Technology Growth Capital, Inc. is a leading specialty finance company focused on providing senior secured loans to venture capital-backed companies in technology-related industries, including technology, biotechnology, life sciences, and energy & renewable technology, at all stages of development. Since inception (December 2003), Hercules has committed more than $5.2 billion to over 320 companies and is the lender of choice for entrepreneurs and venture capital firms seeking growth capital financing.