The Alta Group announced the appointment of John Bober as a Director. A highly regarded equipment leasing and finance industry leader, Bober brings a wealth of lease accounting and financial reporting experience to support Alta’s commitment to providing deep industry expertise based on real world, hands-on experience as market leaders and leasing executives.
Bober joins Alta from IXL Lease Advisory Services, LLC, where he was a managing member of the firm and a specialist in matters related to leasing, lease accounting, project finance investments and financial reporting. Prior to his tenure with IXL, Bober had enjoyed a 23-year career with GE Capital, where he primarily focused on vendor finance arrangements and the leasing of equipment as well as managing all aspects of General Electric Company’s Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) lease accounting project. In addition, Bober held a variety of management positions in finance at GE Capital, and he led teams responsible for the analysis of economic returns from equity and debt investments, project financings, partnerships and large-ticket leases, including lease pricing.
The Alta Group is eager to see Bober’s extensive expertise applied to its clients’ needs.
“While John is well-known in the industry for his accounting expertise, he has extensive operational and management experience, which makes him an ideal resource for our clients in a variety of areas, including lease accounting,” said Valerie L. Gerard, Alta’s Senior Managing Director and Practice Leader of Strategy & Competitive Alignment. “Clearly, he’s bringing tremendous expertise to Alta.”
Bober is looking forward to sharing his expertise in his new role.
“Leasing and equipment finance is a dynamic and engaging world, and I enjoy consulting on lease accounting, pricing, and operations,” Bober said. “My deepest experience is on the lessor side, and spending time on transactions and establishing lease programs and captive finance arrangements is where my days usually have gone. I’m looking forward to sharing what I’ve learned with The Alta Group’s clients.”
Bober is active in the leasing industry and chairs the accounting and reporting committee of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA). In 2014, he was the recipient of the ELFA’s Distinguished Service Award. Bober is also a member of the editorial board of The Monitor.
In addition, Bober has been active in the accounting standards setting process, having served on both the Emerging Issues Task Force and Accounting Standards Executive Committee working groups. Bober was also a member of the joint FASB and IASB international working group on lease accounting. Active in Financial Executives International, Bober is the past chair of that organization’s leases working group. He also served as a senior consultant to Ernst & Young from 2018 to 2020. Prior to joining GE, Bober was a partner with an international accounting firm based in Jakarta, Indonesia, and New York. He frequently speaks at industry conferences on matters related to current developments in finance and accounting.
Bober holds a B.A. in history from Tulane University and an M.P.A. from the University of Texas at Austin, where he is a member of the Department of Accounting Advisory Council and a past member of the McCombs School of Business BBA-MPA Alumni Advisory Board.