Wells Fargo announced that Bill Mayer will become head of its Equipment Finance group. Mayer will succeed John McQueen, a 21-year company veteran who announced his retirement earlier this year, and will report to Ed Blakey, head of Specialized Lending, Servicing and Trust. McQueen will stay on through the end of 2014 to help with transition of responsibilities.

Mayer, a 12-year Wells Fargo veteran, has extensive leadership experience in all aspects of secured lending and finance including sales, credit and operations. Most recently, he worked in Wells Fargo’s Wholesale Credit group with responsibility for Commercial Banking, Capital Finance, Equipment Finance, Government & Institutional Banking and the Credit Resolution group. Prior to his role in Wholesale Credit, Mayer was president of the Commercial and Retail Finance Group at Wells Fargo Capital Finance. Before joining Wells Fargo, he held a number of leadership positions at GE Capital’s Commercial Finance group and Retailer Financial Services business.

“Bill is a proven industry leader with the diverse set of skills necessary to lead our Equipment Finance group,” said Blakey. “I’m confident that he will advance our position as an industry leader in equipment financing and continue to improve efficiencies while providing the best possible service to our customers.”