Melinda Fricke joined Pacific Western Bank as a senior vice president and business development officer for its asset-based lending team. She will be located at the bank’s Plano, TX, office. Fricke will deliver asset-based lending solutions to middle market businesses in north Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.

“Melinda is an exceptionally experienced asset-based lending professional who is well-respected in our industry,” Matt Lernor, managing director of Pacific Western Business Finance, said. “She is a welcome addition to our existing team and will help us accelerate our plans to grow our client base in a meaningful way over the course of the next year and beyond.”

With more than 25 years of experience in asset-based lending, Fricke joined Pacific Western Bank after spending the past 12 years working with Crestmark Bank as regional first vice president of business development in Dallas, where she was responsible for opening Crestmark’s first lending office in the state. Prior to Crestmark, Fricke worked in various business development roles for Summit Financial, Wells Fargo Business Credit, Fremont Financial Business Credit/FINOVA and First Community Financial.

Fricke is a member of the Association for Corporate Growth, serving on both the Women’s Committee and the 2021 Capital Connection Committee. She is also the former philanthropy chair of the Women’s Finance Exchange and a co-founder and the treasurer of Stupid Strong, a 501(c)(3) dedicated to gastric cancer research and awareness.