During the 51st 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. Richard J. Remiker, President of Huntington Equipment Finance, is the Chairman of the Board and Adam Warner, President of Key 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 extremely fortunate to have someone with Rick Remiker’s industry knowledge, experience and insight as Chairman of the Board of Directors for 2013,” said ELFA President and CEO William G. Sutton, CAE.  “Rick has been a valued member volunteer of ELFA for many years, and his proven leadership skills and dedication to our association will be a tremendous asset to our members and the industry at large in the coming year.”

“The ELFA has a proud history of helping to strengthen the U.S. economy that’s reflected in our ever-growing network of member companies and their shared passion for helping businesses succeed,” said Remiker. “We will continue that tradition by further shaping our industry’s overall partnership with and advocacy for corporate America and advancing our collective ability to compete on the world stage.”

Remiker is a 31-year veteran of the commercial equipment finance industry. He has served as President of Huntington Equipment Finance, the equipment leasing arm of Columbus, Ohio-based Huntington Bancshares, since 2010. Prior to joining Huntington, he served as Chief Administrative Officer for RBS Asset Finance. He previously spent five years with Merrill Lynch Capital and nine years with Key Equipment Finance, the last four as President and COO of their mid-sized company market and large-ticket leasing business. He also held positions with U.S. Leasing and CIT Group.  He attended Arizona State University and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration, majoring in finance.

Remiker has previously served on the ELFA’s Board of Directors as a member of the Executive Committee. He also served as Chairman of the association’s Independent Middle Market Business Council Steering Committee, and most recently was a member of the ELFA Personnel Committee. In addition, he served on the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation’s Board of Trustees from 2005-2010.
 
The new members of the ELFA Board of Directors include:

• Bill Besgen, President, Hitachi Capital America Corp.
• Daniel Dyer, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Marlin Business Services Corp.
• Christopher Enbom, Founder, Allegiant Partners
• Ed Hetherington, President, Doosan Infracore Financial Solutions
• John McQueen, Executive Vice President, Wells Fargo Equipment Finance
• Scott Thacker, President, Ivory Consulting Corporation

Robert J. Rinaldi, Executive Vice President, CSI Leasing; James McGrane, President and CEO, EverBank Commercial Finance; and William Stephenson, Chairman, Global Vendor Finance, De Lage Landen International were elected by the membership 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, continues to serve as Secretary. William G. Sutton, CAE, serves as President and CEO.

Crit DeMent, Chairman and CEO of LEAF Commercial Capital, Inc., is Immediate Past Chairman. In addition to Besgen, Dyer, Enbom, Hetherington, McQueen and Thacker, the following are also members of the ELFA Board of Directors:

• Kent Adams, President, Caterpillar Financial Services Corporation
• Tom Askounis, President, Askounis & Darcy, P.C.
• Robert Boyer, President, Susquehanna Commercial Finance
• Susan Carol, CEO, Susan Carol Associates Public Relations
• Anthony Cracchiolo, President & CEO, Vendor Services, US Bancorp Equipment Finance
• Stan Herkelman, President, GreatAmerica Leasing Corporation
• Daniel McCabe, Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing, U.S. and Canada, John Deere Financial
• Fred Sasser, Chairman & CEO, Sasser Family Holdings, Inc.
• David T. Schaefer, Chairman & CEO, Orion First Financial, LLC
• Larry A. Smilie, Managing Director, Banc of America Leasing
• Jud Snyder, President, BMO Harris Equipment Finance Company
• Louis J. Vigliotti, Senior Managing Director, GE Capital Markets Group
• Derek C. Wilkins, Vice President, Global Lease Operations, Steelcase Financial Services