# Steve O'Leary

> Steve O'Leary is the co-founder, chief executive officer and president of Boston-based Clarus Capital, an independent private credit firm focused on equipment financing for private equity-backed middle-market companies. His career began at Shawmut Bank in 1982 and has included building equipment-finance businesses at Shawmut, Eastern Bank and NewStar Financial before launching Clarus with former NewStar colleagues in 2021.

- **Role:** Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer and President at Clarus Capital
- **Organizations:** Clarus Capital, NewStar Financial, Eastern Capital, Eastern Bank, AT&T Capital, Fleet Capital Leasing, Shawmut Bank
- **Education:** BS in Accounting, American International College
- **Known for:** Built Shawmut Bank's revived equipment-finance portfolio to about $400 million by 1995., Founded and managed Eastern Capital, where an industry profile reported growth to nearly $200 million in net assets over eight years., Established NewStar Financial's equipment-finance business in 2010; NewStar sold the platform and related assets to Radius Bank for approximately $140 million in 2016.

## Career timeline

- **1982** — Began his career at Shawmut Bank, initially in asset-based lending and later in equipment finance and leasing.
- **1992-1995** — Led the rebuilt equipment-finance and leasing business at Shawmut; the portfolio grew to about $400 million before Fleet acquired Shawmut.
- **1995 onward** — Worked at Fleet Capital Leasing and AT&T Capital after Fleet's acquisition of Shawmut.
- **Late 1990s-2000s** — Founded and managed Eastern Capital, Eastern Bank's middle-market equipment-finance subsidiary; an industry profile says the team grew the portfolio to nearly $200 million in net assets over eight years.
- **2010** — Joined NewStar Financial to establish its equipment finance and leasing business for leveraged middle-market companies, particularly private equity-owned businesses.
- **2016** — NewStar sold its equipment-finance business and related assets to Radius Bank for approximately $140 million.
- **2021** — Co-founded Clarus Capital with Tim Conway and Michael Eisenstein; the firm launched with a $300 million capital commitment from BharCap Partners and opened in August.
- **2024** — Clarus completed its inaugural equipment asset-backed securitization, CLARUS 2024-1.
- **2026** — Clarus surpassed $1 billion in total capital invested and completed a second securitization valued at more than $332 million.

## Achievements

- Built Shawmut Bank's revived equipment-finance portfolio to about $400 million by 1995.
- Founded and managed Eastern Capital, where an industry profile reported growth to nearly $200 million in net assets over eight years.
- Established NewStar Financial's equipment-finance business in 2010; NewStar sold the platform and related assets to Radius Bank for approximately $140 million in 2016.
- Co-founded Clarus Capital in 2021 with a $300 million capital commitment from BharCap Partners.
- Led Clarus as it surpassed $1 billion in total capital invested across companies backed by more than 40 private equity funds in April 2026.
- Led Clarus through two equipment asset-backed securitizations with more than $600 million in combined issuance by June 2026.

## Latest updates

- **2026-06** — Clarus completed CLARUS 2026-1, its second asset-backed securitization, with an aggregate securitization value above $332 million and more than $600 million in total issuance across both transactions.
- **2026-06** — Clarus closed a $30 million lease facility for a sponsor-backed infrastructure services company to support vehicle purchases.
- **2026-04** — Clarus surpassed $1 billion in total capital invested across companies backed by more than 40 private equity funds.
- **2026-04** — In an industry roundtable, O'Leary said Clarus uses AI for research but not credit decisioning and described consistent underwriting and patient growth as key differentiators.
- **2025-02** — O'Leary represented Clarus at SFVegas 2025 alongside CFO Michael Eisenstein and CIO Jeff Greene.

## Links

- Website: https://www.claruscap.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-o-leary-a02b6b16/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/steve-oleary
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-26