Meet Our Team

Rich Grant
President & CEO
After working for Bay Area Development Company since 2017, Rich was appointed President & CEO effective October 1, 2022. Rich has been involved in various facets of SBA lending for nearly 30 years. Rich graduated with a BS in Managerial Economics from UC Davis. Rich says what he likes most about his work is helping small businesses achieve financial success through their ownership of commercial real estate. He’s helped finance companies that have become household names but one of the most rewarding clients was a small auto-related service company, whose owner told Rich, “Your company has done more to help my business than anyone ever has”. A fun fact about Rich is that he’s a twin. Rich loves spending time with his wife, Colleen and their three children. He enjoys skiing, golf, cheering on the SF Giants and 49ers and enjoying the craft beer and wine country of Sonoma County.

Bob Thompson
Senior Vice President
After earning a BS in Business Administration from University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Bob began his career in the commercial finance industry. He spent 11 years working as a credit analyst, senior credit officer and director of training for Heller Financial (and various predecessor companies) before joining Bay Area Development in 1995. As one of the company’s most senior employees and focusing on the North Bay Area, Bob has been instrumental in helping many companies grow and succeed over the years. Working with the owners of each company, learning about their businesses and how they differentiate themselves from the competition, are the things Bob enjoys most about his position. He also believes in giving back to the community and served for ten years as a board member for Petaluma-based non-profit Healthy Community Consortium. Bob likes to spend his down time playing golf, watching sports and listening to music.

Mark Schwan
Senior Vice President
Mark Schwan joined Bay Area Development in 2023 and serves clients throughout the Greater Sacramento Region. He previously worked at California Statewide CDC, growing the organization’s SBA 504 loan program, and his nearly 40-year career also includes business development positions with Bank of the West, GE Capital, and Heller First Capital. Mark earned a BS in Finance from California State University – Sacramento and says he has always enjoyed providing financial solutions that help clients’ businesses reach their full potential.
Outside of work, Mark is a volunteer and former board member with Project RIDE, a nonprofit organization based in Elk Grove, CA, that provides therapeutic recreational horseback riding instruction to people with special needs. He enjoys playing golf and listening to live music, as well as spending time with his wife, Lisa, their three grown children, and two young grandsons.

Isiah Alcantar
Senior Vice President
Isiah Alcantar joined Bay Area Development Company in 2024 and brings with him nearly 25 years of experience in the banking and financial services industries. His previous positions include SVP/Group Director at Signature Bank in San Jose, VP/Area Manager at Chase Bank in Santa Clara, and VP/Commercial Loan Officer at Wells Fargo Bank in San Jose. Isiah, who earned his BA in Communication Studies from Long Beach State University, says he takes pride in helping small business owners achieve their financial goals and watching their businesses thrive. When he is not in the office, Isiah enjoys playing golf, listening to music, coaching youth baseball in the South County, and spending time with his wife and their two sons.

Rich Hildebrand
Senior Vice President
Rich Hildebrand joined Bay Area Development in 2024 and serves clients throughout the San Francisco and East Bay regions. He has more than 20 years of mortgage banking and commercial real estate lending experience, and has previously held executive positions at Slatt Capital, Amalgamated Bank, and New Resource Bank. Rich earned his BA in Social Science from the University of California at Berkeley and finds it especially rewarding when he can leverage his experience to help clients access financing that will take their companies to new levels of success.
Outside of work, Rich serves on the Nor-Cal FDC State Loan Guaranty Loan Committee and is the treasurer of the 2722 Bancroft Foundation Board. In his free time, he enjoys running, hiking, and golfing, and says all three are even better when his son joins him.
Debbie Stanley, Closing Analyst
Deb has been processing SBA loans since 1986, so to say she has a wealth of experience would be an…
Eleni Caryotakis, VP Loan Analyst and Underwriter
Eleni joined Bay Area Development in 2024 and has over ten years of experience with the SBA 504 loan program.
Elizabeth Rad, Administrative Officer
Elizabeth spent many summers in Santa Monica before moving to Northern California while continuing…
Heather Ashbridge, VP Loan Analyst and Underwriter
Heather joined Bay Area Development in 2021 and has over 15 years’ experience with the SBA 504 loan program.
Kimberly Shinjo, VP Loan Analyst and Underwriter
Kim received her BBA (Finance) and MBA (General Business) from the University of Hawaii…
Levon Suga, Loan Servicing Analyst
Levon joined Bay Area Development in 2020 and has over 15 years’ experience in lending, with a specialization…
Maria Pettise, Loan Servicing Analyst
Maria received her BS in Accounting from Cal State Northridge and put her degree to work in…
Sidney Allen, Loan Servicing Analyst
Sidney is new to working in the 504 program and is looking forward to helping our borrowers in the best…
Sue Dunlap, Portfolio Manager
When Sue joined Bay Area Development in 1999, she already had ten years of SBA loan experience…
Susan Tamondong, Closing Analyst
Susan joined Bay Area Development as a Closing Analyst in 2007…
Frankita Ruiz, Closing Analyst
Frankita joined Bay Area Development Company in 2024…