Financial Services Advocate of the Year

Garrett B. Hunter, President
Business Development Company of RI
Garrett B. Hunter is a consummate banker and advocate. His banking career spans four decades, and he is well known throughout the Rhode Island business community as a true business development professional. Hunter was named President of the Business Development Company of Rhode Island in 1989. During his tenure he has guided the BDC though much change, including providing primary, secondary and equity financing to more than 100 firms that led to the creation, preservation or enhancement of more than 5,500 jobs.

Before joining the BDC, Hunter was Senior Vice President in charge of large corporate lending at the former Rhode Island Hospital Trust National Bank for over 12 years. His career also included serving as vice president and regional manager for corporate lending with National State Bank of New Jersey, and vice president and manager of the national division of Midlantic National Bank of New Jersey.

Hunter was intent on increasing the role the Business Development Company could play in the growth of local companies. Shortly after joining BDC, he increased the visibility of the BDC within the state’s business community, particularly in the banking, accounting and legal fields. Today, the BDC is well known throughout the state as a dependable business partner, whose financing often makes the difference in whether senior lenders support individual projects.

Under Hunter’s leadership BDC coordinated the infusion of nearly $6 million in new capital from local banks, something that was unprecedented among business development companies in the United States. This move more than tripled the BDC’s capital base, which significantly increased the capital available to promising Rhode Island companies.

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BDC clients range from manufacturing, service, and jewelry companies, the traditional mainstays of Rhode Island industry, to software, biotech, and other high-tech companies that will help shape the state’s future.

The Business Development Company also underwrites junior and direct loans guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration. In some instances the BDC makes equity investments, which allows client companies to strengthen their capital base without increasing their debt burden.

It was Garrett’s vision that assured his entrance into the SBA guarantee financing market. He strongly urged the District Office and Washington to help establish BDC as an alternative source for 7(a) lending. This launched him into changing Rhode Island law to allow for the Commissioner of Banking and the Department of Business Regulation to oversee all non-bank lenders.

His belief is that changing the rules benefits everyone involved. Borrowers obtain the capital they need to fuel growth, workers gain because growing companies create new jobs, and Rhode Island’s economy strengthens as greater employment increases tax revenues.

Hunter’s commitment to the growth and development of small business in Rhode Island is evident in the number of emerging entrepreneurs who have benefited from his pro bono counsel. In a typical year, Garrett will advise upwards of 250 companies at no charge, helping to steer them in the right direction when there may not be a fit between their needs and BDC financing.

In 1998, Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Almond asked Hunter to help further the development of emerging local companies. That led to the introduction of a new venture capital fund that continues to channel equity to emerging Rhode Island technology companies. At a State House gathering announcing the new venture capital fund, Governor Almond noted that it was Garrett’s initiative and persistence that made the fund a reality.

Hunter’s long-time professional involvement with Rhode Island businesses dates back to his undergraduate career at Brown University, where he received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1960. He also earned an MBA from New York University in 1965.

He has been very active in a number of community organizations. They include the Narragansett Council of the Boy Scouts of America, the Greater Providence YMCA, the Todd Morsilli Foundation, Junior Achievement of Rhode Island, and the Rhode Island Council for the National Jewish Medical Research Center. He is currently president of the University Club in Providence and a member of the Rhode Island Commodores. He previously served as chairman of the fund raising committee for the Rhode Island State House Restoration Society.

He is an active participant and frequent speaker at a variety of business and community functions and at Roger Williams University School of Law, Rhode Island College and Johnson & Wales University.

The U.S. Small Business Administration is honored to present Garrett B. Hunter, President of the Business Development Company of Rhode Island with the 2000 Rhode Island Financial Services Advocate of the Year Award.

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