The Equipment Leasing & Finance Association (ELFA) announced its new board of directors and officers who will serve for the next 12 months, following the conclusion of the association’s 64th Annual Convention.
Deborah Baker, vice president, global payment solutions at HP, is the new ELFA board chair and Nathan Gibbons, CLFP, CXO of QuickFi, is now chair-elect. The chair-elect and new board members were recommended by ELFA’s nominating committee and approved by a vote of the general membership.
“It’s such an honor to take on this position to represent the members, board and staff of ELFA as the next chair,” Baker said. “I look forward to picking up the baton from our immediate past chair James Cress, and working with CEO Leigh Lytle as we focus more deeply on areas like research, education, and the future of our workforce. I’m particularly excited about the possibilities for getting even more qualified talent engaged in our industry. There are tremendous opportunities to build on the incredible momentum attained over the last year — particularly with advocacy and people — and you can expect another packed agenda as we drive greater achievements for ELFA, the industry and our economy in the coming year.”
Lytle said, “I’m delighted to welcome Deb Baker as chair of ELFA. As our association and our $1.3 trillion industry navigate increasing impact on the broader U.S. economy, Deb’s deep industry expertise and innovative approach will be tremendous assets. Under her leadership, I’m confident ELFA will unlock new opportunities to support our members and propel the industry into its next phase of growth.”
As an active member of ELFA, Baker has held a number of key leadership roles. She has served on the board of directors, the executive committee, the nominating committee and as the board liaison to the Women’s Council. She served as chair of the ELFA Women’s Council, and as a founding member of ELFA’s Equality (now Equity) Committee. She is also a member of the Mentor Match Initiative Community launched earlier this year to strengthen member-to-member connections and professional growth.
Baker has been a long-time generous donor of the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation (ELFF) and was a reviewer for the ELFF’s student scholarship evaluations in 2022 – 2023.
As the vice president, head of global payment solutions at HP, Baker leads HP’s multi-finance partner strategy supporting all HP technologies and customer segmentations (from consumer to global accounts). She is a finance veteran with over 30 years’ experience supporting captive and vendor financing. Prior to joining HP, she held a variety of positions with Cisco Systems Capital Corporation, HP Financial Services and CIT.
Baker holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and an MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison, NJ.
2026 ELFA Board of Directors
The newly elected members of the ELFA Board of Directors include:
- Eric Bunnell, CLFP, President, Arvest Equipment Finance
- John Grosso, Senior Vice President (U.S. and Canada) and Chief Marketing Officer, John Deere Financial
- Dominic Janney, President, Canon Financial Services
- Kyin Lok, CEO, Dext Capital
- Rick Matte, President and CEO, Post Road Equipment Finance
- Donna Yanuzzi, Executive Vice President, 1st Equipment Finance, Inc. People’s Security Bank & Trust (PSBT)
The following individuals were elected by the membership to serve as ELFA Vice Chairs:
- First Vice Chair: Kirk Phillips, President and CEO, Wintrust Asset Finance
- Second Vice Chair: Neal Garnett, Chief Commercial Officer and Executive Board Member, DLL
- Treasurer: Jeffry Elliott, CLFP, Founder and CEO, Elevex Capital
- Secretary: Daryl Muller, Chief Operating Officer and Corporate Secretary, ELFA
- Immediate Past Chair: James Cress, Vice President and General Manager, Flex Financial, Stryker
Other members of the Board are:
- Hollis Bufferd, CEO, Star Hill Financial
- Theresa Dixon, Managing Director, Syndication Manager, Bank of America Global Leasing
- Katie Emmel, COO, Solifi
- Jon Gerson, President, Executive Solutions for Leasing and Finance
- Randy Haug, Executive Vice President, Vice Chairman & Co-Founder, LTi Technology Solutions
- Mathew Iacobucci, SVP – Head of Bank Markets, U.S. Bank
- Christopher Johnson
- Robert Moskovitz
- William Perry
- Moorari Shah, Partner, Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton
- Pasqual Slaughter, Vice President North America, Caterpillar Financial Services
- Michelle Speranza, CLFP, SVP, Chief Marketing Officer, LEAF Commercial Capital
- Stephen White, Executive Vice President, Stonebriar Commercial Finance
