San Antonio, Texas -During the 50th Annual Convention of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA), the association announces its new Board of Directors and Officers, who will serve during the next 12 months. Crit DeMent, Chairman and CEO of LEAF Commercial Capital, Inc., is the Chairman of the Board and Rick Remiker, President of Huntington Equipment Finance, is now Chairman-elect.

The Chairman-elect and new board members were recommended by ELFA’s Nominating Committee and approved by a vote of the general membership. 

“We are fortunate to have Crit DeMent as the 2012 Chairman of our Board of Directors during these challenging times,” said ELFA President and CEO William G. Sutton, CAE. “Crit’s proven leadership skills, his extensive experience in our industry, and his dedication to our association’s goals will help position ELFA to move forward in fulfilling our mission of supporting our members while they are Equipping Business for Success.”

“I am honored and looking forward to having this opportunity to serve as ELFA Chairman,” stated DeMent. “Our industry will continue to play a vital role in the recovery of the U.S. economy and our association as its primary advocate will be at the forefront of this effort. One of the key benefits of this position is working directly with our membership, which is represented by some of the brightest and most creative individuals in the country. Over the next year my goal is to continue to engage our membership to meet future challenges together and continue to deliver relevant value to our organization.”

DeMent has been Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer since he joined LEAF in November 2001. Before that, he was President of Fidelity Leasing, Inc., and its successor, the Technology Finance Group of Citi-Capital Vendor Finance, from 1998 to 2001. He served as Vice President of Marketing for Tokai Financial Services from 1987 through 1996.

DeMent has previously served on the ELFA’s Board of Directors as a member of the Executive Committee. He has also served multiple terms on the Captive and Vendor Finance Business Council Steering Committee and was on the committee that drafted the Code of Fair Business Practices. Most recently he has served on ELFA’s Personnel Committee, as well as on the planning committee for the association’s Annual Investors Conference. 

The new members of the ELFA Board of Directors include:

•         Robert Boyer, President, Susquehanna Commercial Finance, Inc.
•         Susan Carol, APR, CEO, Susan Carol Associates Public Relations, Inc.
•         Daniel McCabe, Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing, U.S. and Canada, John Deere Financial

Adam D. Warner, President, Key Equipment Finance; Robert J. Rinaldi, Senior Vice President, CSI Leasing; and James McGrane, President and CEO, EverBank Commercial Finance, Inc.; were elected by the Board of Directors to serve as ELFA Vice Chairs. Thomas M. Jaschik, President, BB&T Equipment Finance, continues to serve as Treasurer, and Paul Stilp, ELFA’s Vice President of Finance and Administration, will continue to serve as Secretary. William G. Sutton, CAE, serves as President and CEO.