First Capital announced the hiring of Harry R. Novak in its ABL Central Division. Novak will lead and manage First Capital’s Chicago office and be responsible for all asset-based lending new business activity in the Chicago metropolitan area and surrounding markets including Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Indiana and Ohio.

Novak is an experienced financial professional with over 35 years of experience in all aspects of the corporate finance industry including business development, financial analysis, sourcing capital, acquisitions, portfolio management and operations. Most recently Novak was a managing director and senior vice president at Buccino & Associates, Inc. managing the Chicago office and acting as a financial advisor and interim senior management to private and public companies.

Novak started his asset-based lending career with Heller Financial, Inc. where he spent 13 years in new business development, credit administration and operations in both Chicago and Cleveland. Novak served as executive vice president at Laux & Company, a boutique investment banking firm in Medina, OH, and also enjoyed a long tenure at The Gibson-Homans Company, a manufacturing company in Twinsburg, OH, in the positions of chief financial officer and finally as president and COO.

Novak received a BS in Economics and Business from MacMurray College and an MBA in Finance from DePaul University. He holds the professional designation of Certified Turnaround Professional (CTP).

“I am extremely pleased to have Harry join First Capital and lead our growth in the upper Midwest region,” said John Curtis, EVP and ABL Central Division manager. “Harry’s diverse background in the financial services industry and extensive referral base in the upper Midwest market will allow us to continue our growth in that region. We also plan to expand our presence by adding additional new business development and underwriting resources to the upper Midwest region under Harry’s leadership.”

Novak stated, “I’ve had the opportunity to work with both John and First Capital before and believe their business model and lending products fit well with the needs of small to middle market businesses. I am looking forward to getting back into the asset-based lending market and providing solutions to company’s capital needs.”

First Capital provides working capital financing from $2 million to $15 million primarily to small- and middle-market business owners with annual sales ranging from $10 million to $250 million.