Simmons Bank added an 11-member commercial finance team led by industry veterans Lee Palm, Brian Shapiro and Phil Mulder.

Palm will lead the group as president of Simmons Bank’s new commercial finance business unit. Shapiro will serve as managing director and head up the transportation and marine business, while Mulder will oversee the credit function as the division’s head of credit and risk.

Palm, Shapiro and Mulder are all financial industry veterans who were also brought aboard to lead Simmons Bank’s new equipment finance team, which will primarily focus on business aviation, OTR trucking, franchise finance, marine financing and a specialized buy/sell desk function, all adding expertise in support of commercial loans and leases to customers in the middle-market and large corporate finance space.

“Lee brings extensive industry experience building and leading successful commercial finance businesses and the relationships he’s developed will benefit Simmons as we look to further expand and diversify our commercial banking capabilities,” Matt Reddin, executive vice president and chief banking officer at Simmons Bank, said. “Being able to add an entire team with the expertise and skill set that encompasses all of the business verticals necessary to begin operations represents a unique ‘plug and play’ opportunity that will allow us to immediately hit the ground running. Equally important, we’ll be able to offer our commercial finance customers a deeper banking relationship with access to our full array of complementary commercial banking and wealth management products and services.”

Palm most recently served as president of commercial finance at TCF Bank, a $50 billion asset bank formed through the merger of Chemical Bank and TCF Bank. In this role, he developed a de novo business plan to establish a commercial lending business targeting corporate aviation, inland marine and rail, trucking, healthcare finance and franchise finance.

“Having had multiple opportunities to start up significant and successful platforms for both banks and large commercial finance companies, my role will be to utilize the strong capital base afforded us and to replicate those successes as we weave our group into the fabric of Simmons,” Palm said. “I’m excited about leading a high-performance team of commercial finance professionals to brand our bank in key areas of expertise that will contribute to Simmons’ long-term growth strategies designed to build shareholder value.”

Palm has more than three decades of experience building de novo businesses, including time with Transamerica, GMAC, Prudential Capital, Talmer Bank and, most recently, Chemical/TCF Bank.

Shapiro has more than three decades of experience in the commercial finance and leasing arena. He has built businesses for companies including Borg Warner, Pitney Bowes, GMAC, Prudential Capital, Talmer Bank and, most recently, Chemical/TCF Bank.

Mulder has more than 20 years of experience and a background in commercial credit and risk management at both JPMorgan Chase and Citizens Financial Group. For the past 10 years, he led a commercial finance underwriting and portfolio management team responsible for the western U.S. His experience encompasses a range of clients from the middle-market to large corporate spaces across all commercial finance industries, with specialties in rail, corporate aircraft and indirect lending. His primary focus has been on risk management, deal structure and credit policy.

In addition to Palm, Shapiro and Mulder, Simmons Bank also added Tom Vasilakos, Rick Riecker, Chuck Fletcher, Cabel Finch, Andy Chiarenzelli, Jim Lewis, Larry Roegner and David Lyle.

Vasilakos is a commercial finance and banking veteran with more than 30 years of experience.

Riecker is a restaurant financing industry veteran with more than 20 years of experience, including leading several national franchise finance groups. Additionally, Riecker has a range of finance knowledge and expertise focused on the QSR and health and fitness segments.

Fletcher is a financial sales executive specializing in the branded retail and franchise industry. During a career of more than 25 years with both asset-based and securitized lenders, he has sourced, negotiated and closed more than $1.5 billion in loan originations, primarily to small and mid-sized food service franchisees.

Finch has more than 20 years of experience covering all facets of franchise lending, including credit, special assets, business development and capital markets. In addition, he has expertise in commercial and industrial and real estate finance as well as in the franchise restaurant and retail energy sectors.

Chiarenzelli has 24 years of account experience in commercial finance with GE Capital, Caterpillar Financial, BMO and, since 2016, with the Chemical/TCF Bank commercial finance team. His career has primarily revolved around building and managing relationships with trucking and construction companies in the middle-market and larger corporate segments across the United States.

Lewis is a licensed aircraft technician with more than 30 years of experience in the business/corporate aircraft segment, including 20 years at Net Jets, a fractional aircraft ownership company, where he served as executive vice president and maintenance director and executive vice president of aircraft sales and acquisitions. Lewis has spent the past seven years in aviation finance.

Roegner has more than 30 years of experience in credit, underwriting and portfolio management for middle-market and large corporate clients. His underwriting expertise covers a spectrum that includes commercial finance, asset-based lending and large-ticket structured corporate finance transactions.

Lyle has 25 years of experience as an equipment finance professional. He is versed in debt and lease structures, with an emphasis on developing and maintaining relationships in the transportation, construction and inland and offshore marine spaces.