As Jayma Sandquist reflects on a 30-year career and considers what she wants her legacy to be, she says she hopes to have made an impact for women in equipment financing. Her hope is to see other women at the table with senior teams during the rest of her career and certainly after it. She hopes to play a part in preparing other women, advocating for them and providing mentorship. Sandquist is an active mentor for others, which includes providing leadership for a women’s mentorship program launched by John Deere Financial five years ago. This program has impacted more than 100 women who continue to connect for group mentorship.

In her mentoring, Sandquist teaches women to “try to always be logical and aware of your emotions; be firm when you need to be, but don’t forget to show care for others; be honest, transparent and make decisions you can live with; don’t forget what’s most important in life.”

Sandquist has been with John Deere for 20 years and is currently a senior vice president for the United States and Canada at John Deere Financial, a role she has held for two years. In her current role, she is responsible for the U.S. and Canadian financing business for John Deere, managing a product portfolio of $42 billion in assets and is additionally responsible for the global marketing function.

Sandquist has many notable accomplishments from her time at John Deere and at previous companies. She has led her teams through the credit crisis and balanced decisions that supported both business performance and the retention and growth of critical business relationships. Prior to joining John Deere, she provided leadership in the startup of one of the first internet banks, which included securing a de novo thrift charter to deliver on required capabilities.

Several accomplishments she takes pride in Include leading John Deere’s transformation to an agile operating model, providing leadership to the digital product organization during the transition as the organization’s first chief product officer and leading the transformation globally during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This transformation allowed the organization to move quickly through the new needs of the market and deliver digital value in a distributed environment.

In her personal life, Sandquist lives her motto that “relationships matter, invest in them proactively.” She currently serves on the board of Alpha Women’s Center and has previously served on the boards for Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity and the Northwest

Missouri State Foundation. As a part of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association, she has served on the captive vendor finance business council, serving as the chair for the last two years. Most recently, she became a board member of the ELFA.

“Jayma is an inspirational leader who has an exceptional command of the requirements necessary to manage a successful financial services company. She brings her extensive knowledge of the industry and her passion for our people to work every day,” Joel Van Vark, CCO at John Deere Financial, says. “Jayma is a team player who has served in a wide variety of roles, broadening her knowledge and enabling her to truly become an expert in the equipment financing industry.”