Healthcare Finance Group announced that Tommy Ryan joined the firm as senior vice president of Business Development. Ryan’s efforts will be part of HFG’s expanding sales and marketing initiatives as it grows to meet the increasing financial demands of the healthcare industry.

Ryan will be responsible for managing the business development effort in the western U.S. region and will be located in Salt Lake City. He will be particularly focused on the equity sponsors throughout the entire Western U.S. region and on direct company origination efforts in the Northwestern and mountain states.

Ryan was previously a senior vice president at GE Capital Healthcare Financial Services, where he focused on originating transactions from equity sponsors in the western U.S. region. Before joining GE, Ryan was a vice president in the Healthcare Group at Merrill Lynch Capital in Los Angeles, providing senior secured and subordinated debt financing solutions to sponsors and healthcare companies. Previously, Ryan worked in the Technology and Communications Investment Banking Group at Piper Jaffray in Menlo Park.

Commenting on Ryan’s decision to join HFG, Jim Gelwicks, managing director and head of Capital Markets and New Business, said “We are very pleased to have Tommy join our team. Tommy has an extensive background in the healthcare finance industry and is a respected business development executive with significant experience with the equity sponsor community in the western U.S. We are confident that he will have an immediate positive impact on our presence and client service in his region.”