Guelay Mese
Managing Director and Head of Asset-Based Lending
BNP Paribas

As the head of BNP Paribas Asset Based Lending, Guelay Mese has built the bank’s ABL business from its inception, successfully managing the platform’s growth and improving BNP Paribas’ market positioning. Embedded within BNP Paribas’ global banking unit, Guelay provides holistic financing solutions across the capital structure while delivering BNP Paribas’ global network to private equity and corporate clients.

Mese helped pioneer ABL as a capital markets solution for private equity clients and draws on more than 25 years of well-rounded experience in the finance industry across various business lines and regions. She brings a top-to-bottom perspective to every transaction with an expert understanding of the entire deal life cycle.

Mese is a leader who embraces change and understands agility and resiliency are vital for growth. This mindset has driven her to make investing in junior and diverse talent an imperative in her organization. Her dedication to this effort extends beyond the offices of BNP Paribas; Mese is actively involved with diversity, equity and inclusion efforts as vice chair of the Secured Finance Network’s Women in Secured Finance committee and member of its DE&I committee.
“Attracting and retaining talent is getting increasingly challenging and much needs to be done to improve diversity and inclusion in our industry,” Mese says.

Throughout her career, Mese has consistently taken risks, pushed boundaries and taken advantage of opportunities when presenting themselves. Mese, who was born in Turkey and raised in Germany, started her career at Deutsche Bank, where she was accepted into various rising talent programs, including a one-year program to gain international work experience. This led to her relocation to the United States and the earning of her MBA from Columbia Business School, which she calls “some of the most demanding but rewarding experiences” of her life.