The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association selected Lori Frasier, chair of the ELFA Women’s Council, to receive the 2019 Michael J. Fleming Distinguished Service Award. The award honors individuals who have made significant contributions to the association and the equipment finance industry.

Frasier will be formally recognized during a ceremony at the 58th ELFA Annual Convention in Washington, D.C. on October 28.

Frasier is recognized as the driving force behind the creation and growth of the ELFA Women’s Council. In 2016 as a member of the ELFA board of directors, Frasier proposed an initiative to grow the engagement of women in the association. She led the board of directors’ Women in Leasing Working Group, which analyzed survey data from female members of ELFA and identified strategies to increase the inclusion of women in the association. In 2017 Frasier was named founding chair of the Women’s Council, a steering committee focused on providing access, inclusiveness and gender balanced leadership across all levels of ELFA and the equipment finance industry.

Under Frasier’s leadership, the ELFA Women’s Council has developed a number of initiatives to increase the engagement and representation of women in the association. The council launched the ELFA Women’s Leadership Forum, a popular annual event focused on leadership development for women at all stages of an equipment finance career. At the ELFA Annual Convention, the council has presented breakout sessions on gender-balanced leadership and expanded participation in Women’s Council networking events. In addition, the council launched the ELFA Women4Inclusion LinkedIn group, an online network that brings industry professionals together in support of gender-balanced leadership and inclusion.

“Under Lori Frasier’s leadership, the ELFA Women’s Council is helping to lead the evolution of ELFA into a more accessible, inclusive organization that reflects the diversity of our members and the markets they serve,” said ELFA President and CEO Ralph Petta. “Lori and the Women’s Council have been working overtime to increase the engagement and leadership of women in our association and our industry, and this important initiative to achieve gender balance is paying off. We are thrilled to present Lori Frasier with the Michael J. Fleming Distinguished Service Award in recognition of her outstanding contributions.”

“I am so humbled and honored to be recognized in this way amongst such an esteemed, committed group,” said Frasier. “I am proud that our industry recognized the need to create an avenue for more women to engage more deeply with this great association and also made investments to accelerate women’s access and inclusion at all levels. ELFA is a better organization today because of the women and men who recognize the fact that we are all stronger and more successful when we achieve greater gender balance in leadership.”

Frasier has over two decades of experience in the financial services industry. Currently the chief human resources officer of CPI Card Group, Frasier started in equipment finance when she joined Key Equipment Finance in 2003 in global human resources management. She served as senior vice president of Human Resources and Administration before being promoted to senior vice president of Strategic Services in 2009 and then to senior vice president of Strategy and Performance Management in 2013. Prior to joining Key, she held positions at First Data/Western Union.