Aqua Finance, a fast-growing consumer lending platform within Apollo’s origination ecosystem, has named Michelle Gill as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately.
Gill joins Aqua Finance from PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL), where she served as Executive Vice President and General Manager of Small Business and Financial Services.
Prior to PayPal, Gill held senior roles at SoFi (NASDAQ: SOFI), serving first as CFO and later as Executive Vice President of Consumer Lending and Capital Markets.
Before her time at SoFi, Gill spent 14 years at Goldman Sachs, where she rose to Partner and most recently co-led the Structured Finance business.
Her appointment marks a leadership transition at Aqua Finance, with outgoing CEO Kurt Grossheim retiring after three and a half years at the helm of the company.
Grossheim will remain connected to the business, taking up a seat on the Board of Directors and serving as a Senior Advisor to support the handover period.
Ephraim Rudman, Partner at Apollo and Aqua Board Member, praised both executives, saying “Michelle is a highly accomplished Financial Services and FinTech leader with a track record of building strong consumer finance businesses.”
Rudman added that “Kurt has helped establish a strong foundation for Aqua as a leading point-of-sale financing platform, and we are looking forward to working with Michelle as we continue to expand and scale the business.”
Gill said she was eager to build on the company’s established commercial relationships, stating “Aqua has built deep relationships with its dealer and merchant partners over the past 35 years.”
Grossheim expressed confidence in his successor, saying “Michelle is an outstanding leader with deep experience in consumer lending and technology, and I am confident she is the right person to guide Aqua into its next chapter.”
Aqua Finance operates as a point-of-sale consumer finance platform, originating and servicing loans across home improvement, water treatment, pool, and recreational vehicle sectors.
The company has cultivated a national network of more than 6,000 dealer relationships built over four decades of operation, positioning it as a major player in specialty consumer lending.
