LEAF Commercial Capital, (“LEAF”), announced that Gary Sutton, industry veteran and President and CEO of VAR Technology Finance (“VAR”), a division of LEAF, will retire in January 2020. Jonathan Fales, Vice President of Business Development at VAR will assume leadership of the company, and Kirk Sipes and Mark Finch will assume expanded business and program development roles as Sutton steps down.

“As the creator of VAR, one of the nation’s leading third-party technology finance companies, Gary is a driving force and an influencer industry-wide,” said LEAF Chairman and CEO Crit DeMent. “His contributions have played a key role not only in the growth of VAR, but in helping to shape the financing industry through more efficient processes and advanced technology. We thank him for his decades of dedication to VAR’s success and wish him well as he retires.”

“Since 1988, Gary has worked tirelessly to build VAR into the innovative technology leasing and finance company it is today,” said LEAF President and COO Miles Herman. “We deeply appreciate all that he has done for the Company and we’re excited to continue building on the foundation he’s created.”

“Handing over the reins of a company you’ve worked more than 30 years to grow isn’t easy,” said Sutton. “But after much thoughtful consideration, I decided that there are no better hands to leave the Company in than those at LEAF and People’s United Bank. With a philosophy and approach that’s very similar to the one that has served VAR so well over the years, LEAF and People’s United Bank are uniquely equipped with the right mix of people, resources and technology to help VAR write the next chapter in its success story.”