William H. Besgen, Hitachi Capital America‘s vice chairman and board director, has decided to relinquish his current positions and will assume the position of senior advisor/vice chairman emeritus for HCA.

In addition to his ongoing responsibilities as senior advisor, Besgen will continue to represent HCA on the board of directors and executive committee of the Equipment Finance and Leasing Association the remainder of his term, ending in October.

“Bill Besgen has made an enormous contribution to Hitachi Capital since he established this company in the U.S. as EVP and COO in 1990. Bill started with $6 million in capital and three employees and grew the company to over $2 billion in assets with over 200 employees in the U.S. and Canada,” said Chihiro Shirai, HCA’s CEO. “Bill has laid the groundwork for HCA’s continued success in North America. As we conclude our 26th fiscal year on March 31, 2016 the profit before tax this year alone will be 50% more than FY 2014, all with substantially the same people and businesses. This is a realization of past investments in the company and a great accomplishment by all HCA employees both in the U.S. and Canada.”

According to Shirai, Besgen will transition the day-to-day responsibilities of HCA to Ryan Collison, who is the president, COO and board director of HCA. Collison also will become the president and CEO of Hitachi Capital Canada, a wholly-owned subsidiary of HCA.

“We want to express our thanks for all Bill has done in making HCA what it is today, and we look forward to his continued guidance over this upcoming year in his new role as senior advisor/vice chairman emeritus,” said Shirai.