Crestmark announced the establishment of a full-service Crestmark office in downtown Los Angeles; and the addition of Tom Lescher as regional executive vice president; and Chanté Lafall, operations manager. As a part of the growing West division led by Pat Haney, West Division president, the move will significantly expand Crestmark’s presence in the busy California marketplace.

The office will support Crestmark California Business Development Officers Amy Efland, out of San Francisco; Randy Haney, out of Northridge; Leslie Johnson, out of Ventura; and Michael Santos, out of San Diego; and will support new prospects and clients in the area.

Lescher is an experienced asset-based lending and factoring professional with more than 20 years of diverse industry experience. He joins Crestmark from Austin Financial Services where he served as executive vice president. Prior to that, Lescher worked with several financial organizations in California, including US Bank, Business Alliance Capital and Fremont Financial.

Lafall also has more than 20 years of experience in asset-based lending. Lafall and Lescher previously worked together at Austin Financial Services, where she served as operations manager for three years. Prior to that, she worked at Business Alliance Capital where she was instrumental in developing the policies and procedures of the West Coast Division operations.

“It is great news to have Tom and Chanté join Crestmark as we embark on this significant addition,” said Haney. “Crestmark has been steadily increasing its California footprint, and the office will give us the ability to provide more financial solutions to help the diverse small- to medium-sized business marketplace in California. We are eager to see what these changes will bring.”