Lisa Fleischer has been a leader in the equipment finance industry since 1994, beginning as head of litigation and recovery at Advanta Leasing Services. She climbed the ladder to take the position of general counsel at three district banks/finance companies, including DLL.

Along the way, Fleischer has been a stark advocate for women and general diversity in the industry. She is most proud of her work mentoring and coaching others. When DLL provided an opportunity to obtain a coaching certificate from a UK University, Fleischer jumped at the opportunity. Since then, she has coached many members of her company and some outside, all of whom subsequently obtained promotions and/or job growth.

In addition to Fleischer’s work in the U.S., she stepped in as ad-interim global head of legal for DLL International while the international GC was on leave. She effectively juggled this role while ensuring her U.S. team was cared for, and credits them for much of her success in this regard.

“Lisa’s contributions truly transcend the role she plays as DLL U.S.’s general counsel,” Joe Iavarone, head of sales and program management at DLL, says. “I could speak to her contributions to DLL and/or DLL’s partners across the globe. However, it is her impact on the community which sets her apart from the pack. In her leadership capacity, Lisa has been instrumental in supporting and creating employee-focused initiatives to drive diversity, equity and inclusion. Additionally, Lisa is an active proponent of community involvement including worthwhile initiatives like Cradles for Crayons, where she serves as a board member. From a professional association perspective, Lisa has been a board member for the Association of Corporate Counsels for the past nine-plus years.”

For many years, Fleischer led her company in Cradles for Crayons’ annual backpack-a-thon at the Philadelphia Eagles stadium, where, collectively, the groups stuffed 30,000 backpacks with school supplies for children in need in under three hours. She also participates on many continuing legal education panels and spoke at the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association’s Women’s Leadership Forum last April.

“However, it doesn’t stop there,” Iavarone says. “Lisa has sponsored an initiative within DLL called the Career Diversity Accelerator Program. The theme of CDAP is ‘changing communities and building careers.’ To that end, the CDAP provides co-op programs for high school students from under-resourced local schools. From there, the program provides scholarship funds for the students matriculating into colleges and universities. She has been the executive sponsor responsible for seeing this vision come to life this past year.”

One of Fleischer’s proudest moments came when interns of DLL’s CDAP delivered a presentation to DLL’s management team and tearfully thanked the DLL team for the opportunity. Fleischer also sponsors DLL’s Emerging Professionals program.

Fleischer feels strongly about maintaining work-life balance for her team. Pre-COVID, she required everyone to take two to three hours for themselves on a designated day each month.

Fleischer’s professional mission is to bring more diversity into the equipment leasing profession. She hopes to create her legacy as a senior leader who invests in others. She gets no greater joy than watching young professionals tap into their talent and succeed.

“Ladies – take a seat at the board table and be heard. If you happen to be late for a meeting, don’t sit in the back. You are every bit as valuable as your male counterparts. Be bold, be confident. The sky’s the limit if you are willing to work at it.”