Mechanics Bank announced the appointment of Dan Aguilar, a banking professional whose 20 years of wine industry lending experience have included corporate finance, banking, lending, and cash management services to a wide array of West Coast wine enterprises. Mr. Aguilar will serve as Senior Vice President and Regional Manager, Commercial Banking in Napa. For 20 years, Mr. Aguilar was the Managing Director of Silicon Valley Bank’s Wine Division, where he gained renown as an industry expert. He served on the board of the Russian River Valley Winegrowers for nine years, and has been a sought-after speaker about wine industry profitability and performance benchmarking at industry conferences, including speaking annually at the UC Davis Extension OIV Wine Marketing Program. He also has partnered with Sonoma State’s Wine Business Program to provide important insights on what sets top performers apart from others in the industry and how wineries can adjust their operations to mitigate the impact of the Great Recession.