From corporate finance to equipment finance, Joan Vander Linde’s 35-year legal career is a testament to her versatility and expertise in the financial sector.

Previously, as a law firm associate at Schiff Hardin and Waite (now ArentFox Schiff), Vander Linde was involved in corporate and municipal finance. In her in-house positions at First National Bank of Chicago (now JP Morgan Chase) and Household International (now HSBC), she worked on equity and debt securities offerings, credit card law, SEC reporting and corporate governance. As an Axiom Law attorney, she worked on a client’s IPO and secondary offerings, public note issuances and bank facilities and corporate governance.

This broad finance and corporate experience well prepared Vander Linde for her career move five years ago into the world of equipment finance at Navistar, recently rebranded International, the manufacturer of International trucks and IC Bus buses. Vander Linde started as a senior attorney advising International’s treasury group as well as its captive finance company, Navistar Financial. Two years ago, she was promoted to general counsel of Navistar Financial.

In her current role, Vander Linde leads a team responsible for all aspects of Navistar Financial’s legal and compliance needs. She holds herself to high standards in all respects, and extends these high standards to her team. With an approachable style to leadership, Vander Linde ensures her expectations of others are reasonable given each individual’s skills and talents.

As a member of Navistar Financial’s management team, Vander Linde addresses situations with an “us” approach to find a team cohesive resolution and uses her creative problem-solving skills to meet the needs of the business. She values relationships and puts considerable care into developing relationships with those she works with, both internally and externally.

Over the past two years, Vander Linde has played a pivotal role in the Navistar Financial management team, spearheading the legal aspect of the revival of its retail finance business. As part of the company’s rebuild, Vander Linde had the rare opportunity to establish a legal function from scratch and, today, continues to work on improving it. She aims to leave a legal department framework from which the business and future attorneys will benefit.

Vander Linde, alongside her team, updated all of Navistar’s loan and lease documentation, as well as the legal policies and procedures, and led the licensing of Navistar Financial in several states. She supports the establishment of new BEV product finance offerings, a much-needed initiative to enhance the ever-changing transportation industry. Vander Linde also assists the finance team with funding facilities, including securitizations.

“Joan joined Navistar Financial during a transformative period, proving herself as a seasoned general counsel and industry leader,” Patricia Brault, vice president of Navistar Financial, says. “Her passion and leadership were pivotal in re-establishing retail financing, integrating into key workstreams and ensuring Navistar Financial’s successful relaunch.”

Vander Linde’s professional mission is to act as a business partner rather than a business prevention department, a common misperception of lawyers. She strives to understand the business objectives and, if the initial legal path is unfeasible, she creatively finds alternative solutions.

Throughout her career, Vander Linde has greatly benefited from the guidance of female mentors. She is committed to paying it forward by mentoring other women at International, both within and outside the legal department, recognizing the need for more women in leadership roles within the equipment finance industry. •