He brings three decades of banking expertise to the role, having spent the majority of his career working in senior positions at various BNP Paribas subsidiaries across the world.

As CEO at White Oak UK — an affiliate firm of White Oak Global Advisors — Jean-Marc will oversee the company’s growth in lending activity and support the organisation’s commitment to provide flexible funding to UK SMEs and mid-corporates.

Alongside his new role, he will continue to sit on the advisory board of two US fintech firms.

“I’m very pleased to have joined White Oak, given its excellent reputation, experience and capabilities, and 30-year track record in the alternative lending space in the UK and globally,” said Jean-Marc.

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“SMEs and mid-corporates are the backbone of the UK economy and during these changing times, it is essential that they are supported with the necessary and innovative funding solutions to help them grow and thrive, not only to aid our economic recovery, but to ensure we have a world-leading, competitive business landscape moving forward.

“White Oak is ideally positioned to continue to drive this effort forward — as evidenced already with a portfolio value of over £500m.”

Andre Hakkak, co-founder and CEO at White Oak Global Advisors, commented: “We’re excited to have Jean-Marc join our team.

“His experience and in-depth knowledge of the SME and mid-corporate space will be instrumental to ramping up our UK lending activity.

“In spite of the fallout from current macroeconomic challenges, we are confident in the resilience and success of the UK economy.

“With Jean-Marc at the helm, we are perfectly placed to expand our support for UK businesses at a time when other traditional lenders are pulling back funding."