Bruce Kropschot is senior managing director of The Alta Group and heads the global consultancy’s merger and acquisition advisory practice.

Dexter Van Dango is a pen name for a real person who is a senior executive with more than 25 years of experience in the equipment leasing industry. A self-described portly, middle-aged, graying, balding leasing guy in the twilight of a mediocre career, Van Dango will provide occasional insight from the front lines via Monitor.

James (Jim) Jackson is Co-CEO of The Alta Group and leader of its Merger and Acquisition Advisory Practice. Alta’s M&A practice provides buy-side and sell-side advisory services, locates debt and equity financing, provides valuations and performs other related services to the equipment finance industry. Jackson has more than 30 years’ experience in the equipment leasing and finance industry and has served as a senior financial executive at MicroFinancial/ TimePayment, Deutsche Financial Services, AT&T Capital Corporation – Leasing Services and Signal Capital Corporation. He formerly served as President of the National Equipment Finance Association and can be reached at [email protected].

Joe Sebik is a CPA who has worked in the equipment finance industry since 1980. Currently employed by Siemens Financial Services, he has worked for PwC, IBM Credit, Citicorp Global Equipment Finance, Chase Equipment Leasing and JPMorgan’s Tax-Oriented Investments group. His roles have spanned all aspects of equipment finance, from auditing to financial reporting to transaction structuring and marketing to tax reporting. He has been on the ELFA’s Accounting Committee for more than 13 years and has been the chairman of the ELFA’s Federal Tax Committee since 2013. He has written extensively about the industry including numerous technical portfolios for Bloomberg/BNA on both lease accounting and the economics of equipment finance.

Linda Kester is a bestselling author and professional speaker with 25 years of experience in leasing sales and marketing management. As founder of the Institute of Personal Development, Kester has helped hundreds of salespeople increase their volume. Her book, 366 Marketing Tips for Equipment Leasing, has produced results for leasing companies in the U.S., UK and Australia. For more information, visit lindakester.com.

Patricia Voorhees is a director of The Alta Group in the Management Consulting and Merger and Acquisition Advisory Practices. She has more than 25 years’ experience in technology and commercial finance. Her areas of expertise include B2B fintech, vendor/captive leasing, mergers and acquisitions, small-ticket leasing and pricing. Voorhees is a frequent author and speaker on fintech in asset finance and serves on the steering committee for the Commercial Equipment Marketplace Council.

Phil Neuffer is senior editor of ABF Journal.

Rita E. Garwood is editor in chief of Monitor.

Stephen T. Whelan is a partner in the New York office of law firm Blank Rome and a former member of the ELFA Board of Directors (2013-2016). He can be reached at [email protected].

Tom Toton, vice president of Sales, Capital Equipment Solutions, brings nearly 40 years of extensive experience in the transportation industry to his role at Corcentric. He works with companies to determine a flexible, data-driven solution that is based on their operational and financial needs in order to optimize every asset.