Jim Lyons Brings Decades of Expertise to Bank OZK as Managing Director, Equipment Finance and Capital Solutions Group

Bank OZK is pleased to announce the hiring of Jim Lyons as Managing Director, Equipment Finance and Capital Solutions Group. In this new position, Lyons will lead the group's trajectory and help to provide a full array of equipment-oriented solutions, including equipment finance and lease structures.

Prior to Bank OZK, Lyons worked for several prominent financial institutions in the equipment finance and specialty lending field and leveraged his years of knowledge and industry expertise to grow the footprint of many successful banks across the nation.

Lyons said that he was attracted to Bank OZK due to a shared entrepreneurial spirit, collaborative approach, and long-term vision.

"I became very interested in helping the bank build these commercial lending businesses as we shared common interests in erecting the new vertical from the ground-up, the right way, with a proven credit thesis and specifically focused on developing a customer-centric (and long-term relationship) model," Lyons said.

Lyons said the Equipment Finance and Capital Solutions group will be national in scope, targeting equipment, lender and structured financed credit facilities geared toward both existing and new customers.

Alan Jessup, Chief Lending Officer for Bank OZK, praised Lyons for his years of financial experience, and is excited to see how his specialty finance know-how will continue to grow Bank OZK.

"Lyons is a seasoned leader in specialty finance with more than 30 years of experience," Jessup said. "His proficiency in building and managing large and complex specialty finance platforms will allow Bank OZK to expand our capabilities and become the lender of choice for middle-market specialty lending. Our new equipment finance and capital solutions group augments our many successful lending programs including community banking, commercial real estate, commercial and industrial, business aviation, RV and marine, SBA and asset-based lending."

Lyons also had plenty of praise for Bank OZK's strong presence in the financial market, and it's one of the many reasons he chose to partner with the bank for this new group.

"There are not many opportunities left in the banking industry matching OZK's strong balance sheet, industry leading historical performance and extensive runway for launching new C&I lending verticals," Lyons said.

Lyons is a graduate of Eastern Illinois University and obtained his MBA from Ohio University.

If your company is considering a large equipment purchase, reach out to discuss financing at 1-800-274-4482.

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