Converge 2025: The Future of the EF Customer, hosted virtually on July 24 and sponsored by Alfa, Auxilior Capital Partners, EverBank, LTi Technology Solutions, North Mill Equipment Finance, Northteq, Solifi, TomorrowZone, and Wintrust., delivered bold insight, frank discussion and powerful tools to nearly 200 equipment finance professionals ready to reshape how their companies attract, serve, and retain customers in a rapidly evolving market.
Hosted by industry veteran Jim Kelly, this high-impact virtual workshop challenged participants to move beyond outdated playbooks, equipping them with practical strategies and frameworks to build a future-ready customer engine.
“Today isn’t just another webinar,” said Lisa Rafter, Publisher of Monitor, during the event’s opening. “It’s a working session to challenge old thinking and give attendees tools they can use right away.”
The event was framed by exclusive research from Sawbux CEO Keith Henry, who dropped key findings from over 4,000 surveyed equipment buyers and sellers. Among the most revealing:
- 84% of firms can’t define their ideal customer beyond credit metrics
- 93% don’t know their customer acquisition cost
- Only 12% use portfolio data to guide vendor performance
- Just 31% invite customers to reapply at end-of-term
- A mere 3% measure customer lifetime value
“This industry is successful — but if we applied even half of this research, we could be extraordinary,” Henry said.
Jim Kelly’s opening challenge set the tone: “Are we still giving our teams lists and phones and saying, ‘Go get it’? It’s time to be smarter. Strategic thinking is just as important as the relationship.”
In breakout sessions, tactical conversations were sparked by facilitators:
- Joe Banister, Chief Sales Officer, LEAF Commercial Capital
- Jeremy Borkowski, Co-Founder & Chief Commercial Officer, Auxilior Capital Partners, Inc.
- Chris Craft, President & Chief Operating Officer, Specialty Finance Group, 1st Source Bank
- Chris Enbom, Founder & CEO, AP Equipment Financing
- Jennifer Fanz, VP of Sales – Healthcare, PEAC Solutions
- Adrian Hebig, National Sales Director, Stearns Bank, Equipment Finance Division
- Bryan Irvine, Executive Director, Commercial Leader-Vendor Financial Services, Wells Fargo
- Mike Jones, President of Vendor Equipment Finance, First Citizens Bank
- Brad Kissler, Founder & CEO, Vanguard Captive Management
- Daryn Lecy, Chief Operating Officer, Oakmont Capital Services
- Tom Lyle, Chief Operating Officer, North Mill Equipment Finance
- Brian Madison, SVP, Leasing & Fleet Management, The Greenbriar Companies
- Rick Matte, President & CEO, Post Road Equipment Finance
- Nancy Robles, President, Eastern Funding
- Bill Stephenson, CEO, PEAC Solutions
Breakouts were organized by segment — mid-ticket and vendor — and fueled deep dives into the future of EF customer strategies.
Attendees will receive The Converge Playbook, a comprehensive, action-ready toolkit designed to turn insight into execution. Sponsored by Solifi, the playbook will insights derived from the event as well as exclusive customer research based on feedback from over 4,000 equipment buyers and sellers, revealing how decision-making behaviors are shifting across key segments. Measurement models and customer behavior benchmarks help bring ongoing accountability, while the top workshop ideas and takeaways provide a distilled view of the most impactful insights from Converge 2025.
“It’s going to make you a better leader. It’s going to make you a better salesperson,” Kelly said of The Converge Playbook. “It’s going to give you a better thought process as an individual, as a company and as an industry.”
Rafter concluded the event by thanking facilitators and attendees: “You showed up. You brought your insight. You pushed the conversation forward. That’s what this industry needs more of — and it’s what today was about.”
Stay tuned for more information about the next Converge by Monitor event, which will focus on credit and risk.
