ELFA 2020 Business LIVE!

Schedule of Events

Tuesday, October 27

(Schedule times are in US Eastern time zone.)

11:05 am -
12:15 pm
Welcome and General Session Keynote
Speakers:

Ralph Petta Ralph Petta
CEO and President of ELFA


Donna Brazile Donna Brazile
Renowned Political Strategist and Commentator

12:15 -
1:00 pm
Exhibit Hall
1:00 -
2:00 pm
Breakout Sessions

In uncertain times it's more important than ever to have an adaptive, integrated communication strategy. It's imperative to have clear, confident messaging that rises above the fog of confusion and lights the way forward for your company, employees and customers. In this presentation, attendees will learn about leveraging change to strengthen bonds with customers and employees and drive results in even the most challenging environments. We will outline the benefits of an agile marketing approach grounded in time-tested principles and powered by digital tools and creative thinking. Attendees will leave the presentation with actionable insights to help their companies adapt to thrive.

This session is brought to you by the ELFA Communications Committee.

Speakers:

Susan Carol
CEO
Susan Carol Creative

Alan Sikora
CEO
First American Equipment Finance, an RBC / City National Company

Michelle Speranza
SVP, Chief Marketing Officer
LEAF Commercial Capital

Some markers of diversity, like gender or race, can be obvious. Others can easily remain hidden. For example, when you look at our panel, you may think it is not diverse, but our panelists have deeper identities than what meets the eye. Join us to hear their stories. Help create a safe space where people can bring their whole selves to work.

Brought to you by: ELFA Equality Committee

Speakers:

Scott Thacker
Founding Chair, ELFA Equality Committee
CEO
Ivory Consulting Corporation

David Cramer
IT Systems Administrator
Amur Equipment Finance

Wayne Super
Managing Director, Capital Markets
Cisco Capital

Michael Romanowski
President
Farm Credit Leasing Services

"Out of crisis, there's opportunity" prophesies an ancient Chinese proverb. While yielding significant human and economic toll across the globe, COVID-19 created the penultimate business case for embracing new business models and products as businesses were forced to adjust to dramatic shifts in customer behavior and market risks. The virus precipitated an unprecedented urgent need for businesses to transform and innovate on scale not seen since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. With the crushing initial impact of the virus now behind us, equipment leasing and finance company executives are responding by pivoting their business focus away from simply surviving the pandemic towards how to succeed and grow profitably in a post-pandemic world. That means adopting new business models and products at an accelerated pace, fast-tracking digital transformation plans, devising new strategies to ensure operational resiliency and creating the right operational model to accommodate a virtual or work from home environment. At the same time, equipment leasing and finance companies are embracing social and economic inclusion as vital to meeting ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) criteria increasingly being applied by investors, customers and employees. The convergence of all these factors will change how these companies measure their financial and operational success from profitability, efficiency and capital adequacy.

Pulling all of these factors together is The Alta Group's model for The Leasing Company of the FutureTM, the foundation for this presentation. Panelists will examine how COVID-19 is the change agent for adopting these market driven practices with specific attention to current examples now deployed in the industry. The session will dimension the financial impact on the industry including new KPIs. At the conclusion of this presentation, attendees will understand:

  • How to find future growth in new pandemic-proof markets;
  • How end-user customer demands are evolving finance products such as managed solutions;
  • How digital transformation has accelerated;
  • How working from home has changed operational and team dynamics;
  • How recent events has increased transparency and focus on diversity and ESG issues; and
  • How confluence of the above forces may change the way the industry measures efficiency, profitability and capital adequacy for equipment finance and leasing companies
  • While the road ahead is certainly challenging, the industry is certainly on its way to realizing strategies and techniques of 'The Leasing Company of the Future' TM.

Speakers:

Valerie Gerard
Senior Managing Director and Practice Leader
The Alta Group

Mark Duncan
EVP & GM Commercial Finance
Hitachi Capital America

Patricia Voorhees
Director
The Alta Group

Gabrielle Haddad
COO and Co-Founder
Sigma Ratings

Jeffery Rogers
President & CEO
Liftforward, Inc.

Technology introduces new opportunities for our world to transform the way business is done every day. Companies are challenged to craft a strategy that not only takes advantage of these opportunities, but does so in the name of solving real human pain-points. How do you strike a balance between the need to automate and innovate while maintaining a human approach to doing business? Is it possible to leverage technology to improve relationships with customers? Rather than resisting innovation for the sake of the human factor, companies can control how they respond and take advantage of it in a way that puts the customer at the center of the conversation.

This session will:
  • Provide foundational knowledge about technologies available within, and surrounding our industry, and how leaders are tackling the challenges of implementation while maintaining balance.
  • Use industry examples to demonstrate how a client-centric approach to solving problems can be fueled in partnership with innovative technologies.
  • Provide tools and techniques that will result in actionable takeaways for your organization.

Brought to you by: ELFA Operations & Technology Committee

Speakers:

Peter Haug
Product Manager
LTi Solutions

Vinodh Sankaranthi
Manager, Innovation and Digital Transformation
John Deere Financial

Sheila Oliver
Global Product Manager, Retail Product Families
John Deere Financial

Candace Reinhart
SVP of Operations & Syndications
CoreTech Leasing, Inc.

This session will provide an introduction to the equipment finance industry, how it benefits both your company AND your customer, and will take you through the lifecycle of a transaction, helping you understand how each person and process plays a vital role in the overall success. This session is best suited to those who are new to the industry and those who would like a refresher.

Speakers:

R.A. (Bob) Golden
ELFA Instructor
CEO
BoCon Group, Inc.

Gary Anderson
ELFA Instructor

2:00 -
2:30 pm
Exhibit Hall
2:00 -
2:30 pm
Networking Lounge Programs
2:30 -
3:30 pm
Breakout Sessions

A panel of subject matter experts will lead a discussion regarding important legal developments that C-suite officers and chief legal officers alike need to know and some of the hottest topics our industry is facing today.

This session will include:

  • Recent case law and regulatory developments that will clearly impact our industry and your business;
  • Industry hot topics, including COVID-related developments, force majeure clauses, MAC clauses, the use of e-signatures and full blown electronic chattel paper in the working remotely world, the uptick in fraud incidents in the digital world and the growing demand for bundled transactions; and
  • A brief synapsis of an ongoing study of the UCC to determine whether revisions to the UCC are needed to adequately cover emerging technological developments and what this will mean for your business.

Speakers:

Edward K. Gross
Shareholder
Vedder Price P.C.

Dominic Liberatore
Deputy General Counsel
DLL

Lisa M. Moore
Senior Counsel
PNC Equipment Finance, LLC

COVID has disrupted commerce, but aircraft, trucking and vessel finance have displayed resiliency and creativity in keeping the country moving. Panelists, both business and legal, will explain how they have adapted to the challenges of the past six months.

Speakers:

Stephen T. Whelan
Partner
Blank Rome

Marjorie Krumholz
Partner
Thompson Coburn LLP

Heather A. Wilson
Chief Commercial Officer
BMO Transportation Finance

Joel Shapiro
Partner
Blank Rome LLP

This session will explore the journey and ultimately successful implementation of two industry leaders and their ELFA Technology and Operations Award winning submissions. This year we honored not only a traditional project in the excellence class, but also a special category focused on the unexpected, intense environment created by the Covid-19 pandemic. For the excellence award, TIAA Bank harnessed the institutional knowledge of their team and took a holistic approach to digitalize their business centered around their customer's journey. Shifting their mindset to becoming a digital products company that provides financing allowed them to deliver technology solutions enabling a greater agility in their business. Volvo Financial Services, our Covid-19 category winner addressed customer needs and managed internal pain points associated with payment relief requests by forming a cross-functional team and leveraging a new way of working characterized by Agility, Speed and Innovation. Those initiatives delivered solutions that resulted in an enhanced customer experience outcomes.

This topic is of value to all leaders who are seeking insight how to rapidly apply technology solutions that will not only deliver critical business value but enable sustainable and scalable long term growth while mitigating risk and managing costs. Both of these stories highlight the importance of strong leadership and the holistic approach that is vital to positioning a company with the right process and technology for the future. The project stories covered in this session will resonate with both business and technology leaders who are considering significant process and technology change.

Brought to you by: ELFA Operations & Technology Excellence Award

Speakers:

Tawnya Stone
Vice President, Strategic Technology
GreatAmerica Financial Services

Operations & Technology Excellence Award Winner

Denis Stypulkoski
SVP, Chief Information Officer, Commercial Division
TIAA Bank

Justin Tabone
SVP Originations, Vendor Equipment Finance
TIAA Bank

Operations and Technology Excellence Award COVID-19 Project Winner
Volvo Financial Services

All of us come face-to-face with challenges and events that are beyond our control. How we respond to these situations can be the difference between surviving and thriving. Leadership expert, best-selling author and executive coach Grace Killelea has a unique ability to cut through the rhetoric and resonate deeply by sharing the keys to face and overcome crushing change and deep stress. Understanding that we each have an opportunity to move from resistance to resilience, to thrive after challenges and to learn to use failure as an opportunity to "spring forward" with strength and purpose is at the core of success.

You'll learn:

  • How to get back up when you've been kicked to the curb. Learn how to stop running, drop your fear and roll with the punches.
  • How to stop the inner critic from being the GPS of your life.
  • The difference between endurance and recovery. Resilience is a decision we have to make and remake.
  • How to develop tools and strategies to move from merely surviving to thriving.
  • How to manage your intention and recognize your impact.
  • Using Grace's four R's of leadership (relationships, reputation, results and resilience), how to understand stress behaviors and what the triggers are, how to triage and to come back, and how to break through and claim success—whether it's your own life or career situation.

Brought to you by: ELFA Women's Council

Speakers:

Deborah Baker
Chair, ELFA Women’s Council
Head of Worldwide Leasing and Financing
HP Inc.

Grace Killelea
CEO
The GKC Group, Author of The Confidence Effect

3:30 -
3:45 pm
Exhibit Hall
3:45 -
4:45 pm
Foundation General Session and Keynote
Speakers:

Kelli Nienaber Kelli Nienaber
Executive Director, Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation


Scott Thacker Scott Thacker
Chair, Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation


Marci Rossell Marci Rossell
Expert Economic Forecaster, Former CNBC Chief Economist and Co-Host of SQUAWK BOX

4:45 -
5:15 pm
Newcomer and First Time Attendee Reception
4:45 -
5:15 pm
Women’s Council Reception
5:15 -
5:45 pm
Opening Reception


Wednesday, October 28

(Schedule times are in US Eastern time zone.)

11:00 am -
12:15 pm
Welcome and General Session Keynote
Speakers:

Martha Ahlers Martha Ahlers
ELFA Board Chair


Peter Zeihan Peter Zeihan
Geopolitical Strategist

12:15 -
1:00 pm
Exhibit Hall
1:00 -
2:00 pm
Breakout Sessions

What is the temperature of the economy as we approach Q4 during a global pandemic? In this focused discussion on the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation's invaluable 2020 resource launched in May "the COVID-19 Impact Survey" hear directly from Jeff Jensen, Vice President of Keybridge Research, LLC, as well as industry leaders, as they explore the near-term outlook specific to equipment finance.

Moderated by Foundation Chair Scott Thacker, the engaging conversation will delve into the impact of the coronavirus on the propensity to finance, as well as introduce economic factors to watch in the coming months. Attendees will also get a sneak peek at the Foundation's U.S. Economic Outlook: Q4 Update highlights, including the medium and long-term implications of post-COVID-19 on the industry in 2021.

Brought to you by:
Equipment Leasing and Finance Foundation

Speakers:

Scott Thacker
CEO
Ivory Consulting Corporation

Tom Ware
President
Tom Ware Advisory Services, LLC

Jeff Jensen
Senior Director
Keybridge Research, LLC

Jeffry Elliott
Senior Managing Director
Huntington Equipment Finance

A panel of emerging talent and executive leaders will discuss the unique challenges young professionals are facing in the current environment. 2020 has presented new and previously unseen challenges which threaten the long-term success of many companies, and which can have a knock-on effect on the job security and long term prospects of emerging talent and senior staff alike. Over the course of the session, the panel will candidly discuss the challenges that both young professionals and senior staff are facing including: adaptability, technology and remote work, financial burdens, the unique training needs of young professionals, and racial injustice.

Brought to you by: ELFA Emerging Talent Advisory Council

Speakers:

RJ Grimshaw
President & CEO
UniFi Equipment Finance

Mike DiCecco
Executive Vice President
Huntington Asset Finance

Alexandra "Lexie" Dressman
General Counsel
Huntington Equipment Finance

Kara Miyasato
Chair, Emerging Talent Advisory Committee
Director of Marketing Stryker

Technology change is accelerating, and crazy as it is right now, it's never going to be slower than today. Studies report that 90% of data collected in the world's history was generated in the last two years. Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities, such as machine learning, are crucial for leveraging this data for vital business insights. Connected devices are on the rise, and leveraging the Internet of Things (IoT) will exponentially increase data. Biometric identification technology is rapidly changing the possibilities for reimagining the customer experience. Then there's distributed ledger/blockchain technology gaining application in the corporate world.

With so many advancing technologies on the scene, where do you invest your time, energy, and dollars? How do you cut through the hype to see real applications for equipment finance? Is it even a matter of hype vs. reality, or is it a matter of practical adoption? Join us to discuss how these technologies are already adding value to other markets, current uses in equipment finance, and where we could go from here. Identify where these technologies lie on the spectrum between hype and reality specific to our industry.

Brought to you by: ELFA Operations & Technology Committee

Speakers:

Deborah Reuben
Founder & CEO
TomorrowZone

Cameron Krueger
Senior Managing Director - North American Specialty Finance Leader
Accenture

Jillian Munson
QuickFi Product Manager
QuickFi, Innovation Finance USA LLC

Erich Dylus
Associate
Vedder Price P.C.

When the COVID shutdown began, most lenders issued moratoriums on repossession activity and began issuing payment deferrals to customers on a large scale. Several states also issued executive orders reducing or eliminating a lender's ability to enforce their security interests during the crisis. As a consequence, over 90% of the repossession industry's revenues vanished within just a few weeks.

With most states reopening now, and many of the executive orders expiring, the majority of lenders have started to recover collateral where they feel it prudent to do so. However, the chain of events that started due to the crisis has created a series of challenges that lenders must carefully navigate as they pursue recovery of collateral relating to loan/lease defaults. This session will provide additional insight into these issues.

Speakers:

Michael Levison
CEO
Resolvion, LLC

Sherry Lowe Johnson
Director, Senior Counsel
Volvo Financial Services

Tony Sedlacek, CLFP
SVP/Portfolio Management
Orion First Financial, LLC

As we turn the corner to the home stretch of 2020, the dust is settling for many in the management of forbearance and other portfolio issues. But fallout has surfaced among equipment types, products and industries which no longer have appeal as attractive markets to serve. Front and center, it will likely be some time before the airline and hospitality industries return to their pre-2020 health.

While facing the headwinds of out-of-favor industries and equipment types, many companies offering equipment finance products want to grow. How do those in our industry determine how best to grow? This demands a practical market entry strategy. Market entry failure can arise from entering: the wrong markets - the wrong way - too many markets simultaneously - without proper people and processes in place. But what represents suitable markets to enter? How does a leasing company avoid a launch into a market that is not a fit?

Three equipment finance companies have forged distinctively different paths to explore and enter new markets uniquely suitable. We have asked the leadership of these companies to offer insights from their respective journeys. One equipment finance company is owned by a bank. One is the U.S. subsidiary of an international firm. One is a lessor who has specialized in technology asset finance.

As their answers are dramatically different, we have asked them to offer tackle these questions:

  • How do you take a sober look back at your current markets?
  • What are the strategies you employ to be more COVID friendly?
  • How do you leverage your current capabilities to identify new markets in this pandemic situation?
  • How do you make decisions differently now than you did pre-COVID?
  • What elements do you deploy to study and launch entry into new market markets?

This session will include the perspectives of two industry consultants who have forged a set tools that have effectively offered a market entry GPS to help industry leaders road map their way to productive growth within equipment finance.

Speakers:

David Wiener
Managing Director
The Alta Group

Michael Fanger
President
Eastern Funding LLC

Adam R. Ramirez
Chief Risk Officer
Tokyo Century (USA) Inc.

Jonathan Fales
Divisional President
VAR Technology Finance

2:00 -
2:30 pm
Exhibit Hall
2:00 -
2:30 pm
Networking Lounge Programs
2:30 -
3:30 pm
Breakout Sessions

The annual Survey of Equipment Finance Activity "SEFA" Report contains the world's most comprehensive compilation of information on the equipment leasing and finance industry. The casual reader may scan total volume and equipment mix but stop short of utilizing the tools to harness the power contained in this data to undertake course corrections to gain a competitive edge.

SEFA 2020 reporting the results of FY 2019 boasts the highest total combined volume of any year in the history of the survey. The pandemic of 2020 has dramatically changed the way business is done between finance providers and equipment users. Has your company applied the findings in this report to ensure your relevance in the wake of a once-in-a-century disruption?

This presentation is a must attend session for the equipment finance professional responsible for change management and business transformation.

A quick overview of the 2020 Survey of Equipment Finance report will be reviewed. We will be showcasing the new "interactive SEFA" dashboard and a demonstration of how to extract key data points of interest to finance and accounting leadership.

The Alta Group has used the SEFA data to guide their clients to dramatically improve their performance. They have maintained the complete 40-year history of each data element of this survey database.

In addition to the big picture themes of volume, yield portfolio performance and business processes, Dave Wiener from The Alta Group will offer his insights as a consultant on how companies can actually use this year's Survey of Equipment Finance Activity Report to identify specific areas in need of attention.

Speakers:

Dave Wiener
Managing Director
The Alta Group

Bill Choi
VP, Research & Industry Services
ELFA

2020 has brought disruption and turbulence to member business models and industries. Nonetheless, Independents continue to "rack up" business, survive and even thrive. As we close out 2020 and look forward to emerging from the current pandemic, this session will deliver insight into two topics impacting Independents rolling into 2021.

  • Access to Capital & Certainty of Execution in Debt, Equity, Syndications & Capital Markets
  • Industry Pockets of Opportunity or Stress: Equipment sectors prime to target or shy away from

Brought to you by: ELFA Independent Middle Market BCSC

Speakers:

Ricardo "Ricky" Rios
COO
CEFI

Jonathan Albin
COO
Nexseer Capital

Abhay Bhootra
Director, Financial Services Investment Banking
Truist Securities

Barry Ripes
SVP, Financial Services Leader
PayNet, an Equifax Company

Tom Davidson
Executive Vice President
Encina Equipment Finance, LLC

In this session, you will learn from our panel of experts about cloud-based business rules management systems; learn how accessing and utilizing pre-built data connections can optimize every stage of the credit customer lifecycle, giving you the ability to design, test and deploy credit decisioning models and risk strategies in real-time. You will also learn about nimble applications, which can enhance risk management, policy, and scoring strategies and produce economic efficiencies, consistent decisioning, and fraud prevention.

Brought to you by: ELFA Small Ticket BCSC

Speakers:

Brad Peterson
CEO
Channel Partners Capital

Dan Castellini
SVP Data Science and Analytics
Marlin Capital Solutions

Ed Krueger
VP Risk Analytics and Decision Science
Channel Partners Capital

Carl Spilker
EVP of Analytics and Advisory
GDS Link LLC

What do you, an ELFA bank member, need to know to become and remain successful? Participate in a conversation, with bank industry experts, covering topics from cybersecurity issues, to focusing on risk assessment and mitigation to a brief summary of the changes in Libor and transition to SOFR. Our panel will react to these issues, illuminate why they are important and how they apply in a bank equipment finance environment.

Enjoy this high level conversation and walk away with some key topics for thought.

Speakers:

Tony Cracchiolo
President Vendor Finance
U.S. Bank

Jeffry Elliott
Senior Managing Director
Huntington Equipment Finance

Joseph Granneman
CEO & Principal Consultant
illumination.io

A panel of subject matter experts will lead a discussion regarding managed/bundled solutions. Topics will include: (i) an introduction on what managed/bundled services contracts are (and are not), some market trends and why this should matter to your business; (ii) some examples of the most current applications of subscription, usage, and service type models; (iii) operational considerations, including, those relating to an imbedded service option, a meter based usage option, measuring, retrieving and sharing usage data through IoT connectivity, logistics for a flexible model, value based economics specific to the flexibility flowing from COVID, a discussion of some complexities in managing compliant billing, accounting, and UCCs; and (iv) other important considerations, including, off balance sheet implications and practical documentation structuring and suggestions and how to deal with document deficiencies.

Speakers:

Dominic Liberatore
Deputy General Counsel
DLL

Paul Bent
Senior Managing Director
The Alta Group

Larry Scherzer
Director Strategy and Product Development
Cisco Capital

Diane Croessmann
Director
The Alta Group

3:30 -
4:15 pm
Exhibit Hall
4:15 -
4:45 pm
Closing General Session
4:45 -
5:45 pm
Closing Reception