Wintrust Specialty Finance announced two new hires. Chris Maudlin has joined the company as Senior Vice President and Chief Credit Officer, based out of the Irvine, CA office, and Nick Gibbens as Vice President of Business Development, based out of the San Francisco office.

Both join a national team led by David Normandin, President and CEO. Maudlin will work alongside Jake Nguyen, Vice President, Credit Manager; Gibbens will work alongside Mark McKissick, Vice President, Relationship Manager.

“I am excited for the opportunity to join the Wintrust team,” Maudlin said. “Wintrust has established itself as a strong and stable partner in both the mid- and large-ticket equipment space. I am looking forward to working with our team to build a small=ticket platform that will reflect the solid culture and reputation of Wintrust.”

Gibbens added, “I, too, am excited to join such a great team and be involved in launching this segment of Wintrust Asset Finance’s platform. Wintrust’s experience, culture and strong balance sheet will provide and excellent platform to build off of.”

“Wintrust Specialty Finance is proud to have both Mr. Maudlin and Mr. Gibbens on the team,” Normandin said. “Over the last decade, Chris has become a leading credit talent in the small-ticket leasing industry, and I am excited to continue working with him to build WSF into a market leader in our space. And, Nick’s extensive knowledge skills, and experience are a great addition to the team of leasing professionals at WSF and part of the strategic plan in building a best-in-class small-ticket flow platform at Wintrust.”

Maudlin, a Certified Finance & Lease Professional, brings 15 years of experience to this new role. Before joining the company, he was the Senior Vice President of Risk and Analytics at Hanmi Bank’s equipment finance division, and prior to that he was the Vice President, Credit Manager for Banc of California’s equipment finance division. He is a graduate of Loyola University Chicago with a degree in sociology.

With 30 years of industry experience, Gibbens is also a Certified Finance & Lease Professional. He previously served as Senior Vice President of Vendor Finance at Allegiant Partners, and prior to that, was Vice President, Business Unit Manager at Bank of the West Equipment Finance. Gibbens began his career in equipment leasing at US Leasing in San Francisco.