Chris Bozek, former head of working capital solutions at Santander Bank North America, has been appointed president of Apex Capital Corp, a Texas-based freight factoring company serving small to medium-sized trucking firms.

Bozek describes Apex Capital Corp as a “full service company” with offerings that include freight invoice factoring, cash flow assistance, fuel and service repairs, a fuel card, and other value-added products and services that help its trucking clients start and grow their businesses.

The company was founded in 1995 by David Baker and Dean Tetirick. Baker, who had been serving as the company president, now becomes its CEO. Tetirick holds the role of vice-president and general counsel.

A diversification of the business with the former banker now on board is “possible” Bozek tells GTR, although he notes that there is “plenty of room” to grow the current business. “There are tremendous opportunities for the company in terms of its skillset, its people and the leading-edge technology Apex has developed to deliver more services to current clients, while also reaching a broader set of clients,” he says.

“The for-hire carriers are playing a critical role, not only during Covid, but also as we go through the business recovery. The team at Apex takes great pride in helping them with their cash flow and fuel costs, given the criticality of their roles during this time,” Bozek adds.

For Bozek, who once spent five years at Wright Express (now WEX), which at the time was focused on providing fleet fuelling and related services, it’s a return to his roots.

“While it’s certainly different than working for a global bank, the learnings I benefited from early on in providing both fleet fuelling solutions and invoice discounting will help in the transition,” he says.

Bozek’s early career saw him hold positions within finance, global product and general management, sales and international business development with Fortune 100 companies and startup firms.

He moved to banking in 2004, joining Bank of America Merrill Lynch and eventually becoming its global head of trade product and North America trade head. In 2017 he also served as the inaugural chair of the Trade Finance Advisory Council formed by the US Secretary of Commerce. He joined Santander North America in 2018, and led a team focused on delivering globally integrated card, digital payment channels, trade and supply chain solutions.