Joe Gensor and Ryan Berlage have joined Wintrust Commercial Finance (WCF) as senior vice presidents - credit. Both will work from the group’s Frisco, Texas headquarters. Berlage and Gensor will both be responsible for transaction underwriting, documenting and portfolio management for equipment-based loans and leases.
Gensor brings more than 30 years of experience in credit underwriting, documentation and portfolio risk management from his previous roles with the equipment finance divisions of AIG, Transamerica and ITT. He has a Bachelor of Business Administration and Master of Business Administration in accounting and finance from the University of Missouri.
“Joe brings extensive underwriting and deal-closing experience to the organization,” said WCF Chief Credit Officer Paul Hallauer. “He has developed strong credit and documentation knowledge that he applies to a wide range of industries. I know from my previous experience working with Joe, that he has always exhibited excellent research skills and dedication to his work. We’re happy to have him join the team and we look forward to working with him in this new role.”
Berlage joins WCF from Nations Equipment Finance where he was senior vice president – risk, since 2010. Prior to that, he spent 11 years with GE Commercial Finance starting as a financial accountant and moving up to senior risk analyst. He has a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance from the University of Nebraska – Kearney.
“Ryan is also a tremendous addition to the credit team,” Hallauer said. “He was a top performer at GE Commercial Finance and exhibits strong underwriting and deal-closing skills. More recently at Nations Equipment Finance, Ryan has augmented his underwriting and closing skills by managing and developing younger analysts. We were fortunate that he was available, and look forward to having Ryan and his family join us in Frisco, Texas.”
Gensor and Berlage’s extensive backgrounds will immediately contribute to WCF’s focus. The group provides sophisticated loan and lease products to commercial companies in a variety of capital-intensive industries, throughout the United States and Canada, including transportation, construction, manufacturing, healthcare, technology and energy.