The Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation announced the officers of its Board of Trustees who will serve in 2019. The officer elections were held during the Board of Trustees’ Annual Meeting.

Board Officers serving are:

• Jeffry Elliott, Senior Managing Director, Huntington Equipment Finance, as Chairman;
• Scott Thacker, Chief Executive Officer, Ivory Consulting Corporation as Vice Chairman;
• Nancy Pistorio, President, Madison Capital LLC, as Treasurer;
• Ralph Petta, President, Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) as President; and
• Paul Laurenza, Member, Dykema Gossett, as Secretary.

The new members appointed to the Foundation Board of Trustees include:

• Chris Enbom, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, AP Equipment Financing;
• Lori Frasier, Senior Vice President, Strategy and Performance Management, Key Equipment Finance;
• Valerie Gerard, Senior Managing Director, The Alta Group LLC;
• Zack Marsh, Chief Financial Officer, Orion First Financial, LLC; and
• Michael Romanowski, President, Farm Credit Leasing Service Corporation.

“It’s a privilege to have the professional expertise and commitment of our Trustees to guide the Foundation in 2019,” Elliott said. “We’re grateful for their dedication to the Foundation’s mission, which benefits the entire equipment finance industry.”

Other 2019 Trustees are:

• Jeffrey Berg, Executive Vice President, DLL;
• Katie Emmel, Chief Operating Officer, International Decision Systems;
• Eric Hanson, Senior Managing Director, Macquarie Capital;
• Randy Haug, Executive Vice President and Vice Chairman, LTi Technology Solutions;
• James Johnson, Ph.D., Retired, Professor of Finance, Northern Illinois University;
• Donald Link, Vice President and General Manager, Medium and Small Ticket Finance Division, Hitachi Capital America Corp.;
• Bonnie Michael, Vice President, Legal and General Counsel, Volvo Financial Services;
• Thomas Petersen, Executive Vice President, Wells Fargo Equipment Finance;
• Thomas Ware, Senior Vice President, Analytics and Product Development, PayNet, Inc.; and
• Kelli Nienaber, Executive Director, Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation.

Steven R. LeBarron Award
Research Committee Chair Thomas Ware honored Kelly Reale, Vice President, Strategy and Performance Management, Key Equipment Finance, with the Steven R. LeBarron Award for Principled Research during the Foundation’s Annual Research Planning Meeting, which was held along with the Annual Board Meeting. Reale has been a dedicated participant of numerous Foundation Research Committee projects including Managed Solutions and Driverless Vehicles/Robotic Technologies. Reale also led the steering committee for the fintech report, Headwinds, Undercurrents, and Tailwinds: How Equipment Finance Companies Can Learn and Benefit from the Fintech Phenomenon. This award is presented annually in memory of LeBarron to the Research Committee member who demonstrates the insight, fortitude and dedication he exemplified.