The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) announced its new Board of Directors and Officers. Kristine A. Snow, President, Cisco Systems Capital Corporation, is the new ELFA Board Chair and Michael DiCecco, President of Huntington Equipment Finance, is Chair-Elect. The Chair-Elect and new Board members were recommended by ELFA’s Nominating Committee and approved by a vote of the general membership. The new Board will be installed immediately following the final meeting of the 2020 Board on Nov. 10.

“The year 2021 marks ELFA’s 60th anniversary, and we are extremely fortunate to have Kris Snow as Board Chair during the upcoming milestone year,” said ELFA President and CEO Ralph Petta. “As the worldwide pandemic continues to evolve in the year ahead, Kris’s leadership skills, industry experience and commitment to ELFA will help our association move forward in fulfilling our mission in support of our members during these unprecedented times.”  

“I am honored to accept the position of ELFA Board Chair and will work diligently with the Board of Directors, staff and our member organizations to achieve and surpass our goals,” said Snow. “As we deal with the uncertainty of the current environment, it can be difficult to look ahead and know how the future will play out. The equipment financing industry, specifically ELFA and its member organizations, continue to be a critical component of business resiliency and economic recovery.”

Snow has more than two decades of commercial leasing and finance experience. She joined Cisco Systems Capital Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cisco Systems, Inc., in 2009. As President, she leads the company’s global captive finance and certified remanufactured equipment businesses. Previously she served as President of Global Vendor Finance at CIT Group.

An active participant in ELFA, Snow served on the Board of Directors from 2008-2011 and returned to the Board in 2017. In addition to her current position on the Board, she is a member of ELFA’s Executive, Nominating and Personnel Committees. Previously, she served as Chair of the Captive and Vendor Finance Business Council Steering Committee. She has also served as a participant in the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation’s Industry Future Council and a contributor to previous “State of the Equipment Finance Industry” reports.

Outside of ELFA, Snow has been involved in numerous civic and community organizations. She serves on the Gonzaga University Board of Trustees and is Board Member Emeritus for St. Mary’s College School of Economics and Business Administration. She was honored by the Computer Reseller News 2019 Women of the Channel list and received the Silicon Valley Business Journal’s Women of Influence award and the YWCA Tribute to Women Award for the Silicon Valley.

Snow holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Gonzaga University and a Master of Business Administration from St. Mary’s College of California.

2021 ELFA Board of Directors

The newly elected members of the ELFA Board of Directors include:

• Mark Duncan, EVP & GM, Commercial Finance and Corporate Development, Hitachi Capital America Corp.
• David Farrell, Managing Director - Head of Capital Markets, Bank of America Global Leasing
• RJ Grimshaw, President & CEO, UniFi Equipment Finance
• Amy Gross, EVP, Government Finance, Key Equipment Finance
• Ricardo A. Rios, President & CEO, Commercial Equipment Finance, Inc.
• Barry Ripes, VP, Financial Institutions Leader, PayNet, an Equifax Company
• David Verkinderen, SVP, Office Equipment & Manufacturing Vendor Services, U.S. Bank Equipment Finance

 The following individuals were elected by the membership to serve as ELFA Vice Chairs: Robert Neagle, President, Merchant Finance, Ascentium Capital, LLC, and Robert Boyer, President, BB&T Commercial Equipment Capital Corp. Daniel Krajewski, President & CEO, Sertant Capital, LLC, will serve as Treasurer.

Paul Stilp, ELFA’s Chief Financial and Operating Officer, will serve as Secretary and Ralph Petta, ELFA President and CEO, is an Ex-Officio Officer.

Martha Ahlers, President of United Leasing & Finance, is Immediate Past Chair. Other members of the Board are:

• Deborah Baker, Head of Worldwide Leasing and Financing, HP Inc.
• Maureen Carr, Managing Director, Pacific Western Bank   
• Conrad Eimers, President, Vision Financial Group, Inc.
• Nathan Gibbons, COO, Innovation Finance USA LLC   
• Willis Kleinjan, Founder and CEO, Northland Capital Equipment Finance   
• Alan Mogol, Shareholder, Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC   
• David Normandin, President & CEO, Wintrust Specialty Finance   
• Deborah Reuben, Founder & CEO, TomorrowZone
• Thomas Rutherford, President, Crestmark Equipment Finance, a division of MetaBank           
• David Walton, President & CEO, Caterpillar Financial Services Corporation