Briar Capital Real Estate Fund continued the expansion of its business development team with the hiring of Jonathan “JD” Davis. Working out of Briar’s corporate office in Houston, Davis will be responsible for sourcing new business in Texas and the Southwest as vice president of business development.

Davis is an experienced financial professional with a background in both commercial banking and wealth management. Most recently, Davis was a commercial banker at both JPMorgan Chase Bank and Amegy Bank, underwriting transactions totaling more than $1 billion in credit exposure.

“JD is a rising star in the commercial lending industry, and I am excited for him to join our team,” Jeff Van Sickle, president of Briar Capital Real Estate Fund, said. “He is extremely intelligent and people gravitate to him because of his personality. As a former banker, he understands the challenging credit environment many are experiencing today and can provide an effective outlet for lenders and borrowers to get transactions done.”

“I am thrilled to be [at] an institution like Briar Capital,” Davis said. “Their story about shifting a successful business model to focus exclusively on an underserved commercial real estate market speaks to their ingenuity, while their 21-plus year history speaks to their success. When people think of real estate lending for companies that do not fit within the traditional bank or ABL space, they think of Briar Capital.”