Donna Yanuzzi,
Executive Vice President,
1st Equipment Finance

For a very short period of time, Donna Yanuzzi retired from equipment finance. Though, she now finds herself as executive vice president at 1st Equipment Finance, a subsidiary of Peoples Security Bank and Trust Company, with a breadth of experience having led to this executive role.

Yanuzzi began her career in equipment finance in 1997 and worked her way up to serve as a managing director for F.N.B. Equipment Finance prior to her retirement in 2021. Retirement was short, as later that year, Yanuzzi transitioned into her current role, where she follows her long-time passion for mentorship and business development.

The winner of Converge 2024’s Mentor of the Year Award, Yanuzzi came out of retirement primarily for the opportunity to mentor younger talent in the industry. Through her mentorship, Yanuzzi is constantly learning new things from the young professionals she works with, and she highly regards the knowledge that others have to offer.

In her role, Yanuzzi’s short-term focus is to continue to grow her team and meet the needs of existing customers and bank clients. As the economy changes, Yanuzzi notes that lenders need to adapt quickly and find every opportunity to make imperative changes. Because the equipment finance industry is heavily influenced by factors out of company or individual control, such as economic and regulatory changes, Yanuzzi emphasizes the importance of managing the things that she can control. For example, although she cannot control the aging of those already in the industry, she can influence younger talent to join equipment finance and play a key role in their growth.

Aside from mentorship, Yanuzzi’s goals also revolve around creating a sales culture for each department in 1st Equipment Finance to provide the best service for their clients and vendors. She points out that this cannot be achieved by a single department, but rather by the application processors, the operations team, the funding department and management.

Yanuzzi believes that, in order to achieve this synchronization, communication is key. She has committed to always making an effort to share company information through briefings and meetings to ensure that all team members are on the same page. Additionally, she implores herself and others to always maintain integrity in order to foster a supportive and successful work environment for many years to come. •