On Oct. 27, during the 54th Annual Convention of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA), the association announced its new Board of Directors and Officers who will serve during the next 12 months. William Stephenson, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board of DLL, is the new Chairman of the Board and Anthony Cracchiolo, President and CEO of U.S. Bank 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 very fortunate to have Bill Stephenson as Chairman of the Board of Directors for 2016,” said ELFA President and CEO William G. Sutton, CAE. “Bill’s proven leadership skills, his industry knowledge and his dedication to our association’s mission will have a positive impact on both the ELFA membership and the equipment finance industry at large in the coming year.”
“In this time and era where sustainable financial solutions are at the heart of a global transformation that challenges traditional business models, ELFA continues to be a key driver of economic growth in the equipment leasing and finance industry” said Stephenson. “The association provides a wealth of resources to members including research, growth opportunities and networking. I am humbled to receive this honor and I look forward to serving as Chairman of the Board of ELFA in order to continue to drive the support this great organization provides to its members.”
Stephenson is a recognized industry expert with more than 25 years of vendor finance experience. Since 1987, he has served in a number of key senior positions within DLL and played an integral role in the emergence of DLL as a global market leader within the vendor finance and equipment leasing industry. Most recently, he was DLL’s Chief Commercial Officer and a member of the Executive Board, responsible for the overall activities of the Global Vendor Finance Business, which includes offices in over 35 countries within Europe, The Americas, Asia and Australia. Stephenson is a strong advocate of corporate social responsibility and a frequent speaker at industry assemblies throughout the world.
In addition to his current position on the ELFA Board, Stephenson serves on ELFA’s Executive and Personnel Committees. He is a former member of ELFA’s Small Ticket Business Council Steering Committee, Audit Committee and Investment Committee and the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation’s Board of Trustees.
2016 ELFA Board of Directors
The newly elected members of the ELFA Board of Directors include:William Besgen, Vice Chairman, Board of Directors, Hitachi Capital America
- Michael Campbell, CEO, International Decision Systems
- Aylin Cankardes, President, Rockwell Financial Group
- Lori Frasier, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Performance Management, Key Equipment Finance
- David Gilmore, Senior Vice President, Region 4, Worldwide Financial Services Division, John Deere Financial
- Brian Holland, President and CFO, Fleet Advantage
- Gary LoMonaco, Vice President and Treasurer, Forsythe/McArthur Associates
The following individuals were elected by the membership to serve as ELFA Vice Chairs: David Schaefer, CEO, Mintaka Financial; Jud Snyder, President, BMO Harris Equipment Finance; and Martha Ahlers, Vice President and COO, United Leasing. Robert Boyer, President, Susquehanna Commercial Finance, will serve as Treasurer. Paul Stilp, ELFA’s Vice President of Finance and Administration, continues to serve as Secretary.
Ralph Petta will serve as the President and CEO, effective Jan. 1, 2016, following the retirement of William G. Sutton, CAE, at the end of 2015.
Robert Rinaldi, CEO, Commercial Industrial Finance, is Immediate Past Chairman. Other members of the Board are:
- Andrew Bender, CEO, GSG Financial
- Diane Croessmann, Executive Director - Worldwide, Lenovo Financial Services
- Michael DiCecco, President, Huntington Equipment Finance
- John Evans, Executive VP, Equipment Finance Division, Bank of the West
- Brian Griffin, Senior VP – Leasing, MB Financial Bank
- Miles Herman, President and COO, LEAF Commercial Capital
- Gary Kempinski, Executive General Manager, GE Commercial Finance
- Sanjay Kumar, Senior Director, Worldwide Technology and Channel Financing, Cisco Systems Capital
- William Phelan, President, PayNet
- Steve Whelan, Partner, Blank Rome
The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) is the trade association that represents companies in the $903 billion equipment finance sector, which includes financial services companies and manufacturers engaged in financing capital goods. ELFA members are the driving force behind the growth in the commercial equipment finance market and contribute to capital formation in the U.S. and abroad. Its 580 members include independent and captive leasing and finance companies, banks, financial services corporations, broker/packagers and investment banks, as well as manufacturers and service providers.