Western Equipment Finance announced that Matt Bauer, Amy Page, Josh Kiley and Brian Frana have joined the company. The four new team members will be located in the company’s new office in Marshall, MN.
“Matt, Amy, Josh and Brian are wonderful additions to our team,” said Laurie Bakke, President of Western Equipment Finance. “They all have strong connections within the community and possess the expertise and values that will help us continue to grow our business on a national level.”
Bauer joined the Credit team as a Credit Analyst. He will analyze and assess small-ticket transactions and work with the team to evaluate underwriting parameters, guidelines and policy. Bauer joined Western from U.S. Bank Equipment Finance, where he spent nine years in collections and credit analyst roles. He is a graduate of Southwest Minnesota State University.
Page, Kiley and Frana are Business Development Specialists. They will work with new and existing customers and vendors to identify financing needs, as well as finance program negotiations.
From 2003-2020, Page held documentation manager, director, specialist and analyst roles at U.S. Bank Equipment Finance. She graduated from Southwest Minnesota State University.
Kiley spent the past 16 years at U.S. Bank Equipment Finance in credit management, account executive and customer service representative positions. He graduated from Minnesota West Community and Technical College.
Frana previously worked as a coach and professor at Wayne State College and Southwest Minnesota State University. He holds a master’s degree from St. Cloud State University and a bachelor’s degree from Eastern Illinois University.
Bauer, Page, Kiley and Frana will join Hans Zahrbock and Deb Schnaible in the new Marshall office. Zahrbock recently joined Western with more than 25 years of financial services experience, including an extensive background in equipment finance. Schnaible joined the company in 2019 and has more than 25 years of industry experience in account management and business development.
“Together with Hans and Deb, these individuals will form a strong team as we establish our Marshall presence,” Bakke added. “Each has the talent and displays the Midwestern values we were seeking when we selected Marshall as the location for our expansion.”
The 3,000-square-foot office space will open in August in the Tiger Office Park at 408 East Main Street in Marshall. The Marshall team will focus primarily on business development and relationship management.