CG Commercial Finance hired Michael Gay to establish an adjacent national business unit to better deliver asset financing solutions to large corporates, private equity sponsors and major third-party and affiliate relationships.

Gay has more than 20 years of experience executing large, highly-structured transactions within the equipment finance and corporate debt markets. The company anticipates that this channel will be integral to its originations and on-balance sheet growth initiatives.

Gay was previously senior managing director, group head of NXT Capital Equipment Finance. He’s also held senior roles with Bank of America Equipment Leasing, Key National Finance and GE Capital.

CG Commercial Finance was acquired by funds controlled by Atalaya Capital Management in 2016. Following the acquisition, CG expanded its credit facilities, dramatically increased balance sheet funding capacity and is aggressively expanding its origination platform to include direct, vendor, broker, bank/lessor and private equity backed companies. Both CG and Atalaya view the addition of Gay as a significant milestone in CG’s evolution and future growth.

“I’m very excited to join the CG team during this transformative time for the company. Combining the expanded on-balance sheet funding capabilities with CG’s established business creates a formidable platform that can deliver among the widest offerings of asset financing solutions in the industry. The acquisition by Atalaya has really positioned CG to become an industry leader and I’m excited to be an integral part of this phase of growth,” said Gay.

“We are extremely pleased to have Mike on board as part of the leadership team. His combination of talent and deep industry expertise is going to be invaluable as we continue to grow the balance sheet and expand the platform both organically and via acquisitions into interesting markets. The infrastructure and personnel investments we have made this year lay the foundation for significant near term and future growth,” said W. Scott McCullum, president of CG Commercial Finance.