Valiant Finance grows US footprint with appointment of veteran vendor finance executive Joe Iavarone

Seasoned executive brings nearly 30 years of vendor finance expertise to strengthen Valiant's market position

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Australian fintech Valiant Finance has appointed Joe Iavarone as North American President (Sales & Marketing), a veteran with nearly three decades of vendor finance experience, to lead Valiant's US market growth.

The appointment marks a significant milestone for Valiant, which has facilitated more than $3 billion in loans and has established itself as a leader in SMB financing software.

Valiant's US expansion is focused on capturing share in the $1.3 trillion equipment finance market, a sector ripe for a shift toward embedded, technology-led distribution. The company is already working with a growing roster of Fortune 500 partners, enabling vendors and enterprise distributors to offer finance seamlessly into sales flows. With Iavarone now leading North American Sales & Marketing, Valiant expects these enterprise relationships to accelerate further, driving origination growth and deepening its footprint across the region.

"As we invest further in our US operations, having Joe join Valiant is a huge endorsement of both our strategy and our momentum," said Alex Molloy, CEO of Valiant. "His experience, network and understanding of the ecosystem will help us move faster and think bigger. The fact that leaders like Joe want to be part of this journey reinforces that Valiant is building genuinely transformational embedded finance technology."

Iavarone brings substantial expertise across the commercial finance sector. Most recently, he served as Head of Sales for North America at DLL, a global asset finance company with a managed portfolio exceeding $47 billion. In this role, he led a multi-billion-dollar origination platform supporting over 250 professionals across technology, office solutions, and healthcare sectors.

Prior to his role as Head of Sales, Iavarone held global program management roles where he implemented and drove key initiatives for both Cisco Systems Capital and Apple Financial Services. Joe evolved these programs through an aggressive global expansion plan which started with a handful of countries but became more than 25, driving scale and consistency across international markets.

His experience orchestrating relationships between lenders, manufacturers, channel partners and distribution partners is directly applicable to building Valiant's presence in North America.

"The US equipment finance market is substantial, and we're growing at a time when vendors and funders are actively seeking to increase penetration rates and reduce cost through automation," said Molloy. "Joe understands this market intimately - the challenges, the players, the opportunities. His network and track record scaling complex financial operations will be invaluable as we accelerate our momentum and build the future of embedded commercial finance."

"It's exciting to be part of bringing a global fintech solution to the North American market at scale," Iavarone said. "The opportunity here is substantial, and I'm committed to bringing my experience of building partnerships in order to cement Valiant as a trusted name in US commercial finance."

Iavarone  will be reporting to CEO and Co-Founder Alex Molloy who has been in the US since the end of last year growing the Company's white-label embedded finance platform.

About Valiant Finance

Valiant Finance operates a commercial finance platform, streamlining access to capital for businesses. With 90+ lending partners and $3 billion in facilitated loans, Valiant redefines the business lending experience by offering transparency, choice, and the right financing at the right time.

For more information, visit www.valiantfinance.com

SOURCE Valiant Finance