With small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) currently facing economic uncertainty given disruptions around the globe, continued inflationary pressures and higher costs of funds, Acquis has commissioned a short survey of SMBs across North America to understand how the asset finance market can address challenges and deliver opportunities.
Moderator Brian Madison, managing director of Acquis North America, will provide an overview of Acquis’ recent market research and facilitate debate with panelists looking more closely at market sentiment, growth opportunities and challenges.
Brian Madison
Managing Director, Aquis North America
Brian Madison is a global financial services executive with an outstanding record of enhancing operating and financial performance. With experience spanning mid-size to Fortune 50 companies, he brings broad expertise in operations, business development, sales, and marketing, with knowledge of the technology, healthcare, government, clean energy, water, industrial, transportation, and rail market sectors.
During his career building insurance, leasing, vendor services, and commercial finance businesses, Madison has leveraged a deep focus on customer experience and segmentation to enhance growth while implementing sound risk management and pricing disciplines to improve profitability. His keen ability to digitize work and customer interfaces has resulted in the delivery of industry-leading data, analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning (AIML), process automation, and Internet of Things (IoT) tools to improve the customer experience, increase productivity, and deliver new services. He has also created value through starting up new services enterprises and integrating acquisitions of multiple multibillion-dollar portfolio companies.
As Managing Director of Acquis’ North America operation, Madison is spearheading the introduction of specialty insurance services into the equipment finance and leasing markets across the continent.
Across 17 countries globally Acquis is renowned for its innovative lease insurance solutions designed to protect financed equipment. Working with top leasing brands worldwide, Acquis deliver high quality protection and exceptional customer service. By fully outsourcing programs, Acquis removes insurance administration and servicing costs for businesses while generating revenue streams.
Prior to joining Acquis, Madison gained his deep equipment leasing and financing expertise working at bank, independent and captive entities for over 30 years having held senior executive roles at Trinity Industries, KeyCorp’s Equipment Finance, Microsoft, Citigroup, Mellon US Leasing, and GE Capital.
Madison holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from the University of Washington. He has held Board and other positions with the Railway Supply Institute, the Equipment Lease & Finance Foundation, and the Equipment Lease & Finance Association.
In his free time, Madison enjoys skiing, mountain biking, and water sports.
CEO, LEAF Commercial Capital
Miles Herman is the Chief Executive Officer of LEAF Commercial Capital. Herman has over 30 years of operations experience at commercial finance and leasing companies in various senior executive operational roles with Fidelity Leasing and its successor, the Technology Finance Group of CitiCapital Vendor Finance, as well as Tokai Financial Services and Master Lease Corporation. Herman was also a member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) for several years. Beginning in 2019, Herman became a Trustee for the ELFA Foundation and is currently the Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees. In addition, Herman was recently recognized with the 2023 Monitor Current Leader Icon Award.
Head of Worldwide Leasing & Finance, HP
Deb Baker is the Head of Worldwide Leasing & Finance at HP. As part of HP’s Renew Solutions Organization, Baker leads HP’s multi-finance partner strategy supporting all HP technologies and customer segmentations (from Consumer to Global Accounts). She is responsible for driving contractual business growth through an optimized, profitable go to market solution including access to HP devices as a source of second life product.
Baker is a finance veteran with over 30 years’ experience supporting captive and vendor financing. Prior to joining HP, she held a variety of positions with Cisco Systems Capital Corporation, HP Financial Services and CIT.
Baker is a member of the ELFA Board of Directors, Staff Liaison for the ELFA Women’s Council and former member of ELFA Equity Committee. Baker holds a BS in Business Administration and an MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison, NJ.
CEO, Finova Capital
Bob Neagle is the CEO of Finova Capital and the Immediate Past Chair of the ELFA. Prior to this current role, Neagle was President and General Manager of the Merchant Finance Division of Ascentium Capital. In this role, he was responsible for Ascentium Capital’s entry into the payments industry, and the general direction of the business and its P&L.
Over the past thirty years, Neagle has held senior management roles with leading companies in the equipment leasing and financing industry. He began his career with TriContinental Leasing, later Bell Atlantic Capital, where he was SVP and COO of the commercial equipment finance group. He later joined AT&T Capital, where he was SVP of Marketing for the Business Finance unit, which provided SBA loans, conventional loans and small ticket leasing. While at AT&T Capital, Neagle started the Franchise Finance Division, which provided equipment and real estate financing to select National franchisors. After some time at CIT leading its Franchise Finance group, he joined First Data Corporation in 2004, where he led the rapid and profitable growth of First Data Global Leasing both in the United States and Europe and served on the board of the company’s largest International joint venture.
Neagle previously served two terms as a Trustee of the Equipment Leasing and Financing Foundation and has been an Officer and Board Member of the ELFA. Over the years, he has published articles in the Journal of Equipment Leasing and Finance (JELF) and for 30 years has served as a member of the Editorial Review board of the JELF.
Neagle is a Ph.D. graduate of Loyola University Chicago.