Valerie Jester is president of Brandywine Capital Associates, Inc. – an equipment lease and finance company that was founded in 2000, specializing in small and middle market transactions. Brandywine acts as an originator and manager of affinity programs with banks and other local financial service companies. With over 30 years of experience in the equipment leasing and finance industry – Jester has also served as senior vice president of First Sierra Financial, Inc. Her duties included the oversight of First Sierra’s third-party originations division. Prior to First Sierra, Jester was president and owner of Corporate Capital Leasing Group, Inc., a small ticket lessor specializing in financing of equipment for the arbor-care markets. Corporate Capital was sold to Houston based First Sierra Financial in 1996 and became a publicly traded company in 1997, accounting for over $2 billion in small ticket lease originations through 1999. Prior to founding Corporate Capital’s predecessor company in 1988, Jester was a regional manager for General Electric Credit Corporation – in the company’s Commercial Asset Finance Department.

She has been involved with the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association of America for the past 20 years, serving as chairman of the ELFA in 2006-2007. Jester is currently a board member of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Foundation.

She received a Bachelor of Business Administration from the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia in 1982.