Ellen Comeaux,
Retired SVP, Commercial Division Leader of EverBank,

Eileen Schoonmaker,
Retired President and General Manager of DLL,

As the publisher of Monitor, Lisa Rafter has always been skilled at listening and responding to the needs of the equipment finance industry. Rafter noticed a recurring theme in her conversations with industry leaders: the lack of leadership development programs. This became even more apparent as many key industry stakeholders at the executive level began to retire and the emphasis on management succession planning became a primary focus. In September 2021, with a mission to change the world one leader at a time, Rafter launched STRIPES Leadership Program.

To date, five cohorts of future leaders have embarked on their leadership development journeys through STRIPES. Rafter and her team are constantly asking, listening and working to refine the program to ensure it remains on the leading edge of preparing leaders for the future of the industry. Over the last six months, the STRIPES team has made significant enhancements to the program, which will roll out with its sixth cohort in October 2024.

THE MINDS BEHIND THE BUSINESS

The primary feature of the revamped program is new and enriched business content. To design and deliver this curriculum, the STRIPES team engaged the help of two recently-retired industry veterans, Ellen Comeaux and Eileen Schoonmaker.

Comeaux is an accomplished and respected business leader with more than 30 years of experience in commercial finance and strategic development. Most recently, Comeaux spent eight years with EverBank, where she led the vendor equipment finance and commercial real estate business lines. Schoonmaker is a human-centric, transformational leader and respected industry expert with more than 35 years of experience in vendor finance. She became the first DLL U.S. country manager with P&L responsibility for a $10 billion portfolio, and retired from the company in 2023.

Both Comeaux and Schoonmaker are embarking on the next phase of their leadership journeys, in which they plan on sharing their passion for authentic leadership and transformative change with others in the industry.

“STRIPES Leadership Program was developed by industry leaders for industry leaders,” Rafter says. “I cannot be more excited to be working with Eileen Schoonmaker and Ellen Comeaux, as they are two of the most inspiring and successful women I have had the honor of working with in this industry.”

“When Lisa and Susan [program ambassador of STRIPES] reached out to tell us about their plans for taking STRIPES to the next level, I jumped at the chance to get involved,” Comeaux says. “We discussed that mine and Eileen’s collective experience running large leasing businesses would be the perfect complement to the overall program.”

Monitor’s Converge 2024 conference served as the catalyst for Schoonmaker’s involvement in STRIPES. At Converge, Schoonmaker listened to keynote speaker Peter Hinssen’s discussions about how organizations can innovate and thrive in “the day after tomorrow.” She then engaged in conversations and traded ideas with Comeaux following, and the two concluded that there was more for each of them to do in the equipment finance space.

ENRICHED CONTENT

Comeaux and Schoonmaker will be involved in building and delivering business-focused workshops for STRIPES. These sessions, Comeaux says, will better equip STRIPES leaders to tackle the day-to-day and future challenges of leading a business or team.

“Ellen describes it succinctly; we were not going for a leadership workshop you could get online from someone who wrote a book or 10 about it,” Schoonmaker says. “Instead, we wanted to use real business case examples in our industry: how to manage growth/efficiency targets, implement a new platform, compliance, AI — and how to think through these opportunities and possibilities, bring everyone onboard and take the necessary actions.”

“We must be constantly learning and preparing for the future, being readily able to adapt and communicate effectively as the industry and our client needs shift,” Comeaux says.

Comeaux and Schoonmaker will deliver three business workshops, each consisting of three-part modules, focused on real world situations and best practices for approaching these scenarios. Their workshop topics include:
• Leading Change Today, for Tomorrow/Day After
• Mastering Compounded Growth and Exponential Efficiencies
• Managing Performance with the 70/20/10 Rule

ADDITIONAL PROGRAM ENHANCEMENTS

In addition to the increased business content, all participants will now receive one-on-one program coaching. Previously, STRIPES offered a 10-month program with various program levels. Beginning with cohort six, STRIPES will consist of a single program level lasting six months. Master Talks, previously conducted by one leader per session, will now include several recognized industry executives who will share their experiences and insights on the business workshop topics in an interactive roundtable format. •

STRIPES’ sixth cohort will launch in October 2024. To learn more, reach out to Susan Campbell at [email protected].