Fox Ridge Capital, a newly-launched hybrid commercial lender, named Dawn Gillette as chief financial officer to lead the company’s finance and key operations functions as it builds a national business lending platform.
Gillette brings more than three decades of executive leadership across banking, specialty finance and fintech, with deep experience helping build commercial businesses, managing risk and leveraging technology to drive growth. She has a track record of guiding organizations through multiple economic cycles and pioneering process innovations.
Gillette has played instrumental roles in building multiple lending businesses from start-up to scale, across consumer and commercial specialty financing, including quadrupling NBT Bank’s portfolio to $1 billion while reducing portfolio losses and materially improving margins and efficiency.
As CFO of Direct Capital, she was instrumental in growing the balance sheet from nearly zero to $600 million, secured more than $1 billion in debt financing and executed multiple securitizations that supported sustained profitability. In 2011, she led the development of the first digital secured financing process, now a market standard.
Early career roles at Bank of America and predecessors included leading asset securitization efforts and structuring specialty finance loans; originated and executed over $1 billion of annual transactions in asset‑backed conduit business.
In advisory and board roles for fintech and lending, Gillette helps businesses sharpen financial strategy, product-market compatibility and product and process innovation for durable growth.
“Dawn’s blend of commercial markets experience and hands-on operating leadership is critical as we scale Fox Ridge Capital’s national platform,” Tom Depping, CEO of Fox Ridge Capital, said. “Her track record of building resilient businesses aligns with our focus on aggressive growth matched with disciplined risk management.”
At Fox Ridge Capital, Gillette will oversee critical finance initiatives, assist with operational build‑out and integral strategies as the company ramps originations and expands funding channels to support commercial lending nationwide. She holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and a bachelor’s degree from Boston College.
“It’s energizing and inspiring to join Fox Ridge Capital at this pivotal moment to make a direct impact on our success,” Gillette said. “We’ll strategically combine technology and AI into a scalable infrastructure to support swift and responsible escalation — building funding channels needed to serve businesses and our equipment partners nationwide.”
