Meet Our Editorial Board

Vincent Belcastro 

Group Head, Syndications
Element Fleet Management

Vincent (Vince) Belcastro is Group Head, Syndications at Element. He is based out of New York City and works closely with the sales and finance teams across Element Fleet Management. Belcastro is a seasoned and entrepreneurial financial executive. He plays a key role in building out Element’s multi-billion syndication capability and strengthening and de-risking its investment-grade balance sheet. Belcastro is a senior credit professional and expert structuring specialist with more than 20 years of secured financing and leveraged finance experience primarily in the corporate credit markets arena. During this time he has covered companies in a wide array of diverse and unique industry sectors.

Areas of expertise:
Equipment Finance and Leasing
Leveraged Finance
Asset Based Lending
Distressed Restructuring and Investing

Prior to being named Group Head of Santander Corporate Equipment Finance Belcastro served as the Group Head of Equipment Finance at CIT. During his 13 year tenure there he also served as senior risk officer within CIT Corporate Finance group. He was instrumental in the launch, team build-out and integration of CIT’s Problem Loan Management and Healthcare groups. Before joining CIT in 2001, he served in a variety of senior relationship management positions at Citibank N.A. where he was responsible for sourcing and structuring new corporate financing and leasing transactions. Prior to Citibank, he held several transaction-oriented credit positions, at both Republic National Bank and Deutsche Bank, supporting deal-related financing activities in Latin America and Asia.

He is an active member of the Commercial Finance Association, Equipment Lessors and Finance Association, American Bankruptcy Institute and the Turnaround Management Association. He is also active as Board Advisor to a middle market manufacturing company. Belcastro received his BS degrees in Economics and Finance from Saint Francis College. He also completed the Deutsche Bank credit training program.

 

Nate Gibbons

Chief Operating Officer
Innovation Finance

Nate Gibbons oversees the operational strategy for Innovation Finance and is focused on leveraging automation to improve the customer experience.

Gibbons began his career at First American Equipment Finance. It was here that he became Vice President in the Operations department before being asked to help develop and manage the company’s learning and professional development strategy. While at First American, he received the Chairman’s Award (the company’s highest honor) for excellence in character and leadership, as well as City National Bank’s Blue Ladder Award for outstanding employee performance.

Gibbons is a strong advocate for the leasing and finance industry. He has served as Chair of the Emerging Talent Advisory Council for the ELFA, is a member of the ELFA’s Academic Outreach Committee, Chair of the ELFA’s LeasePAC Committee, and he also serves on the ELFA’s Board of Directors, as well as the Board of Directors for the Certified Lease & Finance Professional foundation. Gibbons is a regular conference speaker – covering topics including leadership, diversity, employee engagement, personal & professional development and innovation.

Kareem Jernigan

EVP & Chief Financial Officer
Leasing Associates, Inc.

With over 15 years of extensive consulting and operational financial leadership across across multiple industries, Jernigan has a deep understanding operational finance and accounting. Jernigan has a strong track record of driving business growth and operational efficiency through business partnering and systematic problem-solving.

Jernigan has held a variety of management-level positions in both public and private companies, and has expertise in technical accounting, SEC reporting, financial modeling, treasury, and portfolio management. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Finance, an MBA from the University of Houston, and is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in Texas. Jernigan is a proud United States Marine and attributes all his personal and professional successes to the discipline and leadership qualities he developed while serving in the United States Military.

In his current role, Jernigan is leading Leasing Associates’ transformation efforts, including operational and financial process improvement, ERP implementation, and overseeing all financial operations at the company. He is also responsible for Human Resources and Compliance functions.

Outside of work, Jernigan is happily married with one son. He enjoys working out and coaching youth basketball.

 

Theresa Kabot

CLFP, Manager
K2 Funding Group

Theresa Kabot, CLFP is a graduate of Colorado State University and began her career in commercial equipment financing in Portland at a Pitney Bowes subsidiary, Colonial Pacific Leasing. There she worked the funding side of the industry from credit and documentation to sales and marketing.

In 1996, Kabot went on to establish her own equipment finance company located Seattle, Kabot Commercial Leasing, LLC. Demonstrating her commitment to continuing education and professional development, Theresa earned her CLFP designation in October, 1996. In 2014, Kabot Commercial Leasing expanded beyond being a third-party originator and began billing and collecting a portfolio of transactions in house. This division of the company is known as K2 Funding.

Kabot is an active member of the National Equipment Finance Association, NEFA and the American Association of Commercial Finance Brokers, AACFB. She currently serves on the CLFP Foundation Board of Directors and the 2021 Monitor Editorial Board. She is a past president of the CLFP Foundation, has served on the UAEL Board of Directors, volunteers on numerous committees with NEFA, AACFB as well as numerous industry associations in which her company specializes. Kabot has been an instructor for the Institute for Leasing Professionals, NEFA education videos and presents across the U.S. to her clients on “The Key to Cash Flow.”

In her spare time, Kabot enjoys biking the numerous trails throughout Puget Sound, sketching in charcoal, yoga and playing with her Bernese Mountain Dog, Chewbacca. Kabot and her husband Frank have a ranch in the mountains of Colorado and look forward to retiring there one day.

Kyin Lok

CEO
Dext Capital

Kyin Lok is a 25-year veteran and leader in the equipment leasing industry. His deep knowledge in healthcare and technology are evidenced by his roles successfully leading and developing businesses such as Dext Capital, GE Capital, US Bank and TCF Bank. Lok has managed both vendor and direct origination businesses establishing a track record for superior growth at every business he has led, including GE Capital’s Asia Healthcare Platform, US Bank’s Middle Market Vendor business, several diversified business lines for TCF Bank and most recently, as CEO for Dext Capital, a leading independent lessor focused on healthcare lending.

Lok is well respected and brings a humble leadership style to Dext Capital. He has also had the benefit of overseeing corporate development efforts at GE Capital and TCF Bank, building de novo businesses and leading several successful acquisitions and integrations which makes him uniquely qualified to make decisions on how best to build a company and avoid potential pitfalls of less well capitalized independent lessors.

Lok has an undergraduate degree from Northeastern University, and earned a MBA from Columbia Business School. He is happily married with two kids. During his free time, he enjoys outdoor activities, rooting for his hometown Boston teams, serving on boards for non-profits and spending time with his family.

 

Jennifer Martin

VP, Leasing & Vendor Program Support
Key Equipment Finance

Jen Martin is one of Key Equipment Finance’s senior leaders, responsible for the success of project execution as well as enabling KEF success through data driven strategic modeling, problem solving and delighting clients through the effective execution of strategic plans.

Martin has been in the leasing industry and at Key Equipment Finance for 25 years, having held roles in operations management, project management, technology product ownership, vendor program development and quality assurance. She is the current Chair of the ELFA Operations and Technology committee.

 

Eric McGriff

Chief Risk Officer
Wintrust Specialty Finance

Eric McGriff has been employed in the equipment finance industry for over 30 years and has also been involved in the asset-based lending, specialty finance, distribution finance and inventory finance industries. He has served as a senior leader whose responsibilities have included credit, portfolio management, collections, asset management, operations, customer service, legal operations and statistical modeling.  McGriff was employed by EverBank and its predecessors since 2006 and previously held the position of Senior Vice President and Senior Divisional Credit Officer for the Vendor Equipment Finance business. Currently, he serves as Chief Risk Officer of Wintrust Specialty Finance.

McGriff’s previously employers includes American Express Business Finance where he served as COO, Pinnacle Advisory Services where he was the founder and President and AT&T Credit Corporation where he began his career in 1986

McGriff received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Behavioral Science from Drew University and received a Graduate Credit Management Certificate from the New York Institute of Credit. He currently serves on the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association Credit and Collections Committee and the Equality Committee.

Nancy Robles

Chief Operating Officer

Eastern Funding

Nancy Robles is Chief Operating Officer of Eastern Funding where she is responsible for all of the company’s day-to-day operational and administrative functions.

Robles joined Eastern Funding in 2005 from Fleet Healthcare Capital Leasing/Bank of America. During her tenure at Eastern Funding, she has managed the company’s operations functions including credit, compliance, documentation, funding, loan servicing, legal and work-out and human resources.

Outside of Eastern Funding, she serves on the board of the Berkeley College Scholarship Foundation, The Coin Laundry Association Diversity and Inclusion Committee, Brookline Bank’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee as well as the Berkeley College MBA and Legal Studies Committees.

Robles has been recognized by Monitor as a Top Woman in Equipment Finance for 2020. She has also been featured in Hispanic Executive Magazine.

 

Sohini Roy

Board Member & Former CFO
Nexseer Capital

Sohini Roy is a seasoned financial executive, with substantial financial, operating and strategic experience, primarily in the asset management, fintech space. She has successfully helped several institutions scale.

Roy most recently served as Nexseer Capital’s Chief Finance Officer and is now is a member of their board. Nexseer is a PE owned, mid-ticket, equipment finance company. Before that, she co-founded Allsop MyRA, a Reg-Tech company in the UK and, prior to that, she was the Chief Accounting Officer at Bridgewater Associates, a $160bn hedge fund in Westport, CT.

Roy is on the Board of Silver Fern, a healthcare technology firm, and a founding member of the Moonlight Foundation focusing on LGBTQ adoptions.

For Roy, joining the board is about being involved in the leasing community and multiplying impact – the impact of using her experience, education and passion to support the Monitor’s efforts in informing and educating the equipment finance industry.

Sohini earned her Executive MBA from New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business. She graduated from Franklin & Marshall College with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting.

 

Michelle Speranza

SVP, Chief Marketing Officer
LEAF Commercial Capital, Inc.

Michelle Speranza, LEAF Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, has been with the company since 2005, where she leverages extensive expertise in creating results-driven marketing and public relations campaigns with a strong emphasis on brand building, lead generation and customer retention. A strategic leader with deep experience developing omnichannel campaigns for diverse target audiences, Michelle was a marketing professional for the Walt Disney Company and The Philadelphia Inquirer prior to joining LEAF. A graduate of Gwynedd-Mercy College, Michelle has also served as chair of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association’s Communications Committee.

 

Denis Stypulkoski

Founder & Principal
Reimagine Advisors

Denis Stypulkoski is a seasoned business executive with a successful track record of launching and building a private equity startup. His leadership profile spans from startup opportunities to global companies within the technology, finance and banking industries. Stypulkoski is known as a senior business executive who bridges the business and technology landscape. He has envisioned, developed, delivered and managed business startups and technology platforms in leading-edge technology environments, with a focus on revenue creation, digitalization, operations effectiveness and efficiency.=

Stypulkoski’s background includes executive positions with TIAA Bank, EverBank, Tygris Commercial Finance Group, US Express Leasing, CIT Group, Newcourt Credit Group, and AT&T Capital Corporation. In addition, he has served as a CIO Advisory Consultant with The Alta Group, and was also co-founder of a financial industry software startup in 2000, Seismiq, Inc., which was ultimately acquired by International Decision Systems (IDS) and Schroder Ventures U.S. He recently served as a member of the Board of Advisors for the Ying Wu College of Computing at New Jersey Institute of Technology.

Stypulkoski most recently launched Reimagine Advisors, a business transformation consultancy helping organizations reimagine their business to compete in the Digital Economy.

Camtu Vo

Manager of Product Development
DLL

Camtu Vo, Manager of Product Development for DLL’s Food & Agriculture Global Business Unit is responsible for the alignment of projects and products with digital strategies from product development through market delivery and adoption.

Before joining DLL over five years ago, Camtu worked in the insurance industry. Camtu started at DLL in one of the company’s first Customer Engagement Hubs located in Dallas, TX. Here Camtu built a strong focus on customer experience and driving ease of business through digital transformation.

Camtu majored in Art History from New York University and received her MBA from the University of North Texas. Camtu currently serves on the ELFA Emerging Talent Advisory Council (ETAC), leading the 2023 Training and Professional Development Taskforce and is the ETAC liaison to the Captive and Vendor Finance committee. She enjoys traveling, hiking, yoga, and performs locally with her dance company throughout the year.

Jill Vogel

President & COO
Milestone Bank

Jill Vogel, president and COO of Milestone Bank, has been with the bank and its predecessor, LCA in various roles for the past 25 years. Before being named president, she was responsible for the operations of the organization, including oversight of credit, documentation, customer service, collections and information technology. Vogel also plays a leadership role in risk management monitoring, internal and regulatory audits and policy creation.

Vogel is an invaluable asset to Milestone and the leasing industry given her rare combination of technical leasing expertise and compassion for Milestone’s team members and customers. This has been best demonstrated recently during the COVID-19 pandemic, as she has successfully led the development and implementation of Milestone’s pandemic-driven payment accommodation strategies and Paycheck Protection Program plan to Milestone’s more than 15,000 lease customers and equipment vendors. At the same time, she has used ingenuity and flexibility to develop and implement strategies and deal structures that allow Milestone’s equipment vendors to continue to execute business during this very uncertain time while making herself available at all hours to all parties.

David Wiener

Managing Director, Client Relations
The Alta Group

David Wiener has been respected in the disciplines of sales, credit, and capital markets/syndications within the equipment finance industry for more than 30 years. As an expert in transaction and portfolio pricing and negotiation execution, he has managed or collaborated with capital markets staff collectively closing over $50 billion in portfolios and transactions. He has created full capital markets syndications capabilities for three of the top-10 vendor leasing organizations in the U.S.

As a consultant with The Alta Group, David is engaged in client relations efforts. He has served customers on a wide array of equipment finance engagements:  acquisition due diligence, process improvement, bench-marking studies, market entry strategy, de-novo equipment finance platform creation and vendor program assessment.

Prior to his work at Alta, David gained broad industry management experience as a transaction leader at LEAF Financial, GE Capital Markets, Tokai Financial Services, and Maryland National/MNC Leasing. He is a past recipient of the GE Capital Pinnacle and Tokai Winners Circle awards. David has utilized Six Sigma quality tools and e-commerce initiatives for process improvement. He directed an effort to internationally outsource capital markets analytic activities, a cost saving endeavor that reduced deal evaluation cycle time recognized as a best practice within the world’s leading international outsourcing company.

He is regarded as a leading authority on equipment finance data and demographics analysis. From 1982 to 2006, Dave served on the ELFA Research Committee.  He was a 2004 recipient of the ELFA Distinguished Service Award.  In his industry volunteer service, Dave also has served as a trustee on the Equipment Leasing and Finance Foundation, and was personally instrumental in commissioning research resulting in the publication of more than 40 major industry reports.