Schedule of Events
Sunday, October 27
| 10:00 am - 1:00 pm |
Jim McGrane Charity Bike Ride and Monument Tour (pre-registration required, limited to 60 attendees) |
| 10:00 am - 8:00 pm |
Convention Registration |
| 10:15 am - 2:15 pm |
Odyssey Brunch Cruise and Tour with Docent (pre-registration required, limited to 150 attendees) |
| 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm |
Community Service Project
Community Lodgings (on property)(pre-registration required, limited to 60 attendees) |
| 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm |
Exhibitor Set Up |
| 4:30 pm - 5:30 pm |
New Members & Leadership Reception |
| 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm |
Women's Council Reception |
| 6:00 pm - 8:30 pm |
Welcoming Reception Exhibits Open |
Monday, October 28
| 7:00 am - 4:00 pm |
Exhibits Open |
| 7:00 am - 4:30 pm |
Registration |
| 7:00 am - 8:15 am |
Group Breakfast |
| 8:30 - 10:00 am |
Opening General Session
Speaker: |
| 10:30 - Noon |
Coffee Break in Exhibit Area |
| 10:30 - 12:00 pm |
Breakout Sessions
Technological advances are enabling game-changing innovations and stand-out customer experiences in every industry. Equipment finance companies must keep up with the change, as innovative uses of technology will shape the equipment finance industry. Cloud and mobile are rapidly becoming the norm, leveling the playing field, and enabling businesses of all sizes to leverage new technology. Across the industry, companies are applying technology to create new opportunities, creative products, and innovative offers that bring value to customers. How are you future-proofing your business? What is next, and what lies beyond the status quo? Innovative applications of advanced technology are transforming the business landscape: enabling digitally-savvy companies to deliver excellent customer experience, explore new markets, and reimagine existing business models. However, it's about more than the technology itself; how we think about it matters. A shift in thinking about the role of technology is shaping the commercial equipment finance and leasing industry in fascinating ways. Join ELFA Technology Innovation Working Group Chair, Deborah Reuben, and a selection of industry leaders for an innovation showcase and facilitated discussion. What do you see on the horizon? What are you doing about it?
Speakers:
Mike Baez
Marilyn Crowley, CPA, CA
Nathan Gibbons
Rafe Rosato
Deborah Reuben, CLFP
In this session we will focus on the following:
Speakers:
Axel Bernabe
Erica McBride Stark
Geoff Whaling
Hiring the wrong person can cost you, according to one estimate, 13 times the employee’s salary, and that’s just a bare minimum. Hiring is one of the most important and costly decisions that we make at work, so let’s put your hiring process to the test. The ELFA Women’s Council is proud to present Professor Tanya Menon, PhD., whose TED talk was one of the 25 most popular of 2018. She will present an interactive session that considers the twin problems of hiring: widening your pool, and then picking the right fish. We’ll begin with how people narrow their hiring pool and consider how you can be intentional about widening your reach to a broader pool of candidates. Then we will consider how you filter that pool. Many interviewers base their judgements on gut, and we’ll begin by testing your intuition and giving you individualized feedback on your accuracy. We will explore the systematic patterns of errors people make in judging candidates and identify specific tools to help you isolate valid diagnostic cues that truly predict performance. You will walk away with the tools needed to make better, faster and smarter hiring decisions. Submitted by the ELFA Women’s Council.
Speaker:
Tanya Menon
A panel of subject matter experts and practitioners will re-enact various classic fraud cases which have taken their toll on the equipment leasing industry over years past. With participation from the audience, the panel will then discuss what preventive and detection methods are most effective in combating fraud in the e-world of today.
Through a series of role plays, the panel will draw the attention and participation of the audience into this important subject area, including definitions of terms, methods and tactics of fraudsters, red flags and warning signs, and preventive measures and precautions. Speakers:
Paul Bent
Zacharia Baldwin
Dominic Liberatore
Andrew Mesches
Moorari Shah |
| 11:00 am - 4:00 pm |
Spouse/Companion EventAmerica's First Home - Mount Vernon Tour and Luncheon |
| 12:15 - 2:00 pm |
Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation Luncheon, General Session
Speaker: |
| 2:00 - 4:00 pm |
Coffee Break in Exhibit Area |
| 2:30 - 4:00 pm |
Breakout Sessions
In the current environment of increasing state regulations and licensing requirements that affect bank owned equipment finance companies (whether the parent bank is federally or state chartered), many such equipment finance companies have considered and/or implemented a merger up into their parent bank, as the parent bank is often exempt from such requirements. Following such a merger up, the equipment finance company operates as a division of the bank, rather than as a separate legal entity. This distinguished panel of inside and outside counsel, along with a business line CEO, will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of such a merger up transaction. They will also explore a variation of the merger up, which is a run off of the existing book of business of the subsidiary. Lastly, they will highlight the various issues and considerations that must be considered in such a merger up or run off transaction. This will be an interactive discussion, and audience questions and input will be welcomed and encouraged.
Speakers:
Stewart Abramson
Crit DeMent
Robert Geis
David Miele
Ken Weinberg
We aspire to foster diversity and inclusion in our organizations and among our clients and customers because it is just plain good business. We know that a diverse and inclusive workforce allows us to harness varying life experiences and points of view allowing us to react and think differently, approach challenges and solve problems differently, make suggestions and decisions differently, and see different opportunities. What blocks organizations from creating diverse and inclusive workplaces when doing so can improve financial performance? A key factor: unconscious implicit and confirmation bias can unintentionally stand in the way of us achieving our own diversity and inclusion goals. This highly interactive discussion uses our own life experiences to examine the existence, pervasiveness, and impact of bias, our industry’s key data points, and ways we can interrupt and neutralize bias and create financially beneficial inclusive workplaces. With that knowledge, we will introduce “ELFA Equality”—the ELFA diversity and inclusion initiative—and its steering committee to help us turn aspirations into action.
Speakers:
Scott Thacker
Richard Chapman
Our industry is evolving. At the same time, much of the leadership in our industry is of a generation in which the transactions were originated, held and sold using paper documents, and involved financings of equipment and (maybe) other related acquisition costs.
Speakers:
Edward Gross
Dominic Liberatore
Scott Stewart
It’s one of the biggest swings that is required in the equipment finance industry. Traditionally, lessors have put much of their spending focus on system integration projects aimed at meeting efficiency and cost goals. But, today, equipment lenders need to dedicate dollars and expertise to the task of improving the customer experience. New players, such as fintech organizations, are changing the landscape of the equipment lending business and are driving the importance of the customer experience. All while this customer experience driven approach contrasts sharply from the traditional equipment financiers who have spent time upgrading legacy systems. And then the customer. Customers have varying needs and wants, not everybody wants a digital experience, but the thing everyone does demand, an excellent experience.
In this session, we will address five main levels to consider in devising a Customer Experience based strategy:
Speakers:
Andrew Cotter
Andrew Ingram
Michelle Palomera Daniel Davidson Partner & Global Consulting Leader for Commercial Banking Genpact, LLC |
| 4:30 - 5:30 pm |
International Reception |
MICHAEL BESCHLOSS
MARCI ROSSELLEvening Free for Private Entertaining and Company-Sponsored Receptions
Tuesday, October 29
| 7:00 - 8:15 am |
Group Breakfast | ||
| 7:00 am - 3:00 pm |
Registration Open | ||
| 7:00 am - 3:00 pm |
Exhibits Open | ||
| 8:30 - 10:30 am |
General Session
10:30 - |
Noon Coffee Break in exhibit area |
|
| 11:00 am - 12:30 pm |
Breakout Sessions
Vendor partnerships have existed for decades and continue to be a staple in the equipment leasing and financing industry. Manufacturers and resellers who rely on these programs understand that when vendor partnerships work well, they provide high value. However, during periods of rapid transformation, as we are seeing today, the success of these programs can be threatened and get out of sync. To mitigate the risk of having unanticipated events impact the alignment of these partnerships, it’s becoming increasingly imperative for vendors to stay on top of changes. This session would be an opportunity for hear from panelists representing OEM requirements as well as funders and providers of niche services. They will focus on the diligence required to make these programs work effectively to enable current and future flexibility.
Speakers:
Diane Croessmann
James Cress
Jon Fales
Bryce Ray
A panel of mentors and mentees discuss the value of mentorships and sponsorships, programs they've implemented, and other ways they engage emerging talent within their companies. They will speak frankly about the challenges they've faced and opportunities available, and there will be an opportunity for the audience to ask questions of the leaders and the emerging talent employees they've mentored.
Speakers:
Kaitlin Bonner
Aaron Hill
Emily Latham-Bolt
Kara Miyasato
Amy Nelson
We are currently in one of the longest economic growth periods in recent history. While current economic conditions are expected to continue in the near term, organizations need to prepare now for the inevitable shift in the economic cycle. This session is designed to provide attendees with insight and actionable steps they can take now to assess risk, enhance current process, controls, and address governance oversight. In addition, provide considerations to enable financial flexibility and stability by incorporating alternative funding solutions to address the financing needs of your organization and enhance the financing solutions you offer to your customers. In doing so, industry participants also need to consider the potential implications of one of the largest changes in the financing sector, set to take effect in 2021-Libor Reform. Broadly across the financial markets, there are approximately $200 Trillion USD in Libor Linked contracts outstanding today. Understanding how this may impact your funding sources, the financing contracts you have with your customers, and potential impact to the funding needs of your customers, cannot be overlooked.
Speakers:
Shannon Detling
Christopher Gigliotti
Barry Ripes
Phillip Thigpen
For many organizations, it is time to build a foundation for the future and thereby, eliminate one of the biggest drags on time to market. Business modernization is an agenda item for CIOs and their enterprise architects. How do you tie modernization to the business agenda, prove the business value of making the investment and determine the right time to start inserting innovation projects?
The ELFA Operations and Technology Excellence Award received a record number of submissions this year and as such the award and this session will highlight 2 categories of winner – project excellence, geared toward large modernization projects as well as innovation, highlighting forward thinking implemented to transform the client experience. Attendees will:
Speakers:
Andrew Cotter
Alexandre Doubinkine
Tawnya Stone
Jennifer Martin
Mark Theis |
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| 11:00 am - 4:00 pm |
Spouse/Companion EventA Rare Glimpse - Private U.S. Capitol Tour and Luncheon |
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| 12:45 - 2:30 pm |
New! Community Luncheon for all Attendees
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| 2:30 - 3:00 pm |
Coffee break in exhibit area | ||
| 3:00 - 4:30 pm |
Breakout Sessions
Much has been made in recent years about the ever-increasing regulatory scrutiny of the equipment financing and leasing industry. Federal legislation such Dodd-Frank, which notably amends the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to require financial institutions to gather information about applicants for commercial loans, is among the more recent examples of regulatory scope creep shifting consumer-focused protections into the commercial sector. Not to be overlooked, state legislatures have been particularly active in passing laws and regulations mandating consumer-style disclosures, enhanced privacy and data security protocols, and strict adherence to licensing and usury laws.
This panel will touch upon several current regulatory risks affecting equipment financers and lessors, including:
Speakers:
Andy Fishburn
Don Hansen
Kathryn Ryan
Moorari Shah
Technology has become an increasingly essential facet of our business. Firms recognize the importance of data throughout the entire lifecycle. Informed decisions during sourcing, origination, and credit need to be supported with data. In this panel session, we’ve assembled a group of business leaders and technology partners to discuss foundational concepts to develop a practical framework that you can bring back to your company to make a positive impact.
Speakers:
Kristian Dolan
Raja Sengupta
Steven Siler
Jim Swift
Internal department silos are being knocked down and replaced with a cohesive and customer-centric approach to winning new business and improving the customer experience with a consistent brand. Therefore, all departments must adopt a singular focus to shape that experience in a positive and rewarding way. Innovators are taking inspiration from B2C models like Amazon’s – as today’s B2B customer journey mimics that of a consumer. Every employee is a brand and social media ambassador.
Speakers:
Susan Carol
Keelie Fitzgerald
Emily Foley
RJ Grimshaw
Michelle Speranza
Sustainability is an important topic across industries. The equipment finance market is well positioned to be a vital component of enabling sustainable industry business models. The purpose of this panel discussion will be to explore the challenges and opportunities in creating financing solutions that enable sustainable business models. We will explore specific models of sustainable finance specifically in the energy and technology space including what elements make them sustainable and where they intersect with managed services. Key enabling capital markets structures to enable sustainable models will be discussed.
Speakers:
Patricia Voorhees
Cassandra John
Steve Riggs
Jeffrey Rogers
Jake Wachman |
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| 6:30 - 9:30 pm |
Closing Reception & Dinner at the Smithsonian American History Museum |
JAKE TAPPER
MARK SCHARENBROICH