NEW YORK, April 6, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Newtek Business Services Corp., (NASDAQ: NEWT), an internally managed business development company ("BDC"), today announced that it has attracted and retained the talent of Mr. John Raven.  Mr. Raven will join Newtek as the Chief Operating Officer of Managed Technology Solutions.  Mr. Raven has over 25 years' experience in the information technology space and brings a broad array of expertise in areas of cloud technology, information technology, and security, data center and storage solutions as well as sales and marketing, and product development.

Most recently, Mr. Raven offered Chief Technology Officer and Chief Operating Officer consulting services to Looksmart, LTD. and Clickable.  Prior to that, he served as a Chief Technology Officer and Chief Operating Officer consultant for IBM Global Services and its elite IBM Export Blue Team where he provided information technology architect services.  Mr. Raven was the President, Chief Technology Officer and Chief Operating Officer for YP.com & LiveDeal, Inc., where he analyzed priority strategic challenges, delivered concepts and recommendations for course of action to the CEO and Board.  Throughout his career, he has held various senior positions at technology companies including Perot Systems, Read-Rite Corporation, Southern Texas PCS (T-Mobile) and Viacom, Inc.  Mr. Raven worked for NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory for 3 years as a System and Network Engineer for the 1996 Mission to Mars, Mars Pathfinder.  He spent 12 active years and 10 reserve years with the United States Army, serving as a soldier and combat veteran in the Infantry and Special Operations.

Barry Sloane, President, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Newtek Business Services Corp. commented, "We are thrilled to have acquired the talent and skill set of Mr. John Raven, who will be working closely with Richard Rebetti, our President of Managed Technology Solutions, to further grow and develop the Newtek Management Technology Solutions offerings to independent business owners.  John Raven's vast experience and over 25-year history as a technology executive in public and private enterprises will accelerate our growth in both revenues and bottom-line profits."

Mr. Sloane continued, "Our managed technology solutions business is a portfolio company under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and provides outsourced technology solutions to independent business owners in all 50 states as well as international clients.  We manage and host over 100,000 domain names and over 40,000 clients out of our Tier-1 Level 4 data center in Scottsdale, AZ.  We also manage the hardware and software application of business owners in our data center in public and private cloud environments as well as dedicated and shared hosted environments.  We strongly believe the market for managed technology and cloud solutions for business owners has tremendous growth potential.  The market cap of our peers such as Go Daddy and Endurance International Group encourages us to grow and scale this business within our ownership of portfolio companies.  Our plans to grow our business organically and through acquisition will be enhanced by John's arrival.  John's disciplined approach, based on his military background and his track record as a technology executive, will benefit all our clients as well as the shareholders of Newtek Business Services Corp."

Mr. Raven is a graduate of the California Institute of Technology with a B.S. in Computer Science.    He is an ISC² Certified Information Systems Security Professional (C.I.S.S.P) and Project Management Institute Project Management Professional (P.M.P).  Mr. Raven  has experience with Hypervisor platforms, SQL database environments, network and telecom environments, datacenter operations, information security systems, storage systems, compliance standards, leadership and management methodologies, Internet search systems, Internet marketing, carrier operations and manufacturing systems.  Mr. Raven will be based in the Company's Phoenix, Arizona office.

About Newtek Business Services Corp.

Newtek Business Services Corp., The Small Business Authority^®, is an internally managed BDC, which along with its controlled portfolio companies, provides a wide range of business services and financial products under the Newtek^® brand to the small- and medium-sized business ("SMB") market. Since 1999, Newtek has provided state-of-the-art, cost-efficient products and services and efficient business strategies to over 100,000 SMB accounts across all 50 States to help them grow their sales, control their expenses and reduce their risk.

Newtek's products and services include: Business Lending, Electronic Payment Processing,  Managed Technology Solutions (Cloud Computing), eCommerce, Accounts Receivable Financing, The Secure Gateway, The Newtek Advantage^™, Insurance Services, Web Services, Data Backup, Storage and Retrieval and Payroll.

The Small Business Authority^® is a registered trade mark of Newtek Business Services Corp., and neither are a part of or endorsed by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements

Statements in this press release including statements regarding Newtek's beliefs, expectations, intentions or strategies for the future may be "forward-looking statements." All forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations reflected in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, intensified competition, operating problems and their impact on revenues and profit margins, anticipated future business strategies and financial performance, anticipated future number of customers, business prospects, legislative developments and similar matters. Risk factors, cautionary statements and other conditions, which could cause Newtek's actual results to differ from management's current expectations, are contained in Newtek's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available through www.sec.gov

For more information, please visit the following websites:
www.thesba.com

Contacts:

Newtek Business Services Corp.
Barry Sloane
Chairman and CEO
212-356-9500
bsloane@thesba.com

Investor Relations
Contact: Jayne Cavuoto
Telephone: (212) 273-8179 / jcavuoto@thesba.com

Public Relations
Contact: Simrita Singh
Telephone: (212) 356-9566 / ssingh@thesba.com

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SOURCE Newtek Business Services Corp.