Accord Financial named Ira Almond director of business development for U.S. asset-based finance in the Southeast, and Sahil Sharma the director of business development for U.S. equipment finance in the Northeast, expanding its U.S. business development team. Each will be responsible for developing partnerships across a range of industries to provide equipment financing solutions to middle-market businesses while expanding Accord’s relationships within the independent sponsor and intermediary communities.
“Ira and Sahil have the experience and knowledge to quickly assess our customers and partners’ financing needs and respond with a unique Accord product offering,” Jim Hogan, president of U.S. commercial finance at Accord Financial, said.
“With the addition of both Ira and Sahil, Accord gains a strong presence throughout the East Coast as we push ahead with our growth plans,” Marcel Borg, vice president of national sales at Accord Financial, said.
Almond has held front end roles at Wells Fargo Bank, BB&T (now Truist Bank) and PNC Bank. In addition, Almond is a graduate of BB&T’s leadership development program.
Sharma’s experience includes various financial analyst roles within the pharmaceutical industry. Sharma was also responsible for financial planning and analysis within the consumer technology sector and inside sales within the banking industry.
“Accord is a growing non-bank lending platform where I can utilize my relationship management skills as well as my extensive credit and underwriting experience,” Almond said.
“Accord provides an open platform to inspire growth and ideas,” Sharma said. “This company philosophy is a perfect fit for today’s rapidly changing market conditions and I look forward to helping our customers as they create their own new ideas for growth.”
