Banc of California Hires Helgeson to Bolster Charter School Practice

Banc of California hired John Helgeson in the new position of senior director of specialty banking to focus on banking and lending to charter schools. In this position, Helgeson will be reporting to Patti Thompson-Derry, market executive for Banc of California’s healthcare, education and nonprofit banking group.

“We are thrilled to have someone of John’s caliber join Banc of California. John has not only been responsible for providing more than $2 billion of funding and commitments to charter schools across the United States, but is a recognized expert and frequent speaker on charter school finance and cash flow planning. John joins a talented team that continues to build Banc of California’s reputation as the go-to bank in education and nonprofit banking,” Jay Sanders, president of specialty banking, deposits and treasury management at Banc of California, said.

“Banc of California has a strong reputation as a relationship-based business bank and has built an excellent platform focusing on education and nonprofit clients. I am especially excited to build on this success and expand lending and depository offerings to a broader set of educational institutions,” Helgeson said.

Helgeson’s experience includes more than 14 years focusing on charter school finance leadership, including launching charter school financing programs in 11 States. Helgeson was also a U.S. Olympic Trial finalist for the U.S. modern pentathlon in 1992.