Thomas Rutherford was appointed division president of Crestmark Equipment Finance. James Recker was also promoted and will serve as division chief operating officer and general counsel.

Both Rutherford and Recker will report to Mick Goik, Crestmark president and chief operating officer, and both will be based at the company’s corporate offices in Bloomfield Hills/Troy, MI.

“I have great confidence in this leadership team. Their combined expertise provides a great resource to the lease finance industry… and to Crestmark,” Goik said. “Tom and Jim have been instrumental to the division’s success and they will continue advancing it to new strategic heights. Our goal is to grow CEF from a $300 million leasing company to a $1 billion program, by assisting all sizes of business with lease financing.”

Rutherford said, “Jim and I are really looking forward to helping with the continued growth of the leasing division; and the good things ahead for Crestmark.”

In October 2014, Crestmark acquired Bloomfield Hills-based TIP Capital. The division was renamed Crestmark Equipment Finance to serve as its equipment leasing division. At that time, Rutherford was named senior vice president/chief operating officer of CEF and oversaw the business operations and lease funding activities of the division including credit, syndications and asset management departments. Recker was named senior vice president/executive vice president, general counsel, and was responsible for all aspects of the division’s legal, human resources and lease documentation processes.

Rutherford co-founded TIP Capital in 1999 and served as chief operating officer. He has more than 30 years of experience in sales, marketing and operations, with more than 25 years in technology financing. Prior to joining TIP Capital, Rutherford was the director of syndications for AT&T Capital Systems Leasing, responsible for the placement, syndication and management of a diverse portfolio of equipment financing transactions. Before that, he was a regional business manager of the asset management team at CMI Corporation.

Recker joined TIP Capital in 2000 and served as its executive vice president and general counsel. He has more than 20 years of legal experience unique to the equipment leasing industry. Before joining TIP Capital, Recker was senior vice president and chief counsel for AT&T Capital Systems Leasing, and was responsible for legal matters and additional business responsibilities. Before that, he focused on portfolio acquisitions and capital raising activity within the equipment leasing industry for the law firm of Sidley & Austin.