Monitor brought together close to 200 participants for Converge AI on October 8, creating a collaborative experience for equipment finance professionals to explore AI’s impact and identify practical ways to apply it within their organizations.

Led by Lisa Rafter, publisher of Monitor, and Keith Henry, CEO of Sawbux, Converge AI featured nine practitioner-led breakout topics spanning credit decisions, origination, workflow automation, leadership, governance and emerging asset classes. Attendees asked questions, shared experiences and worked through challenges alongside peers and facilitators, with group discussions bringing insights from each breakout back to the broader audience.

“Converge AI demonstrated what can happen when we bring this industry together to share openly, challenge our thinking and learn from people putting these tools to work,” Rafter said. “We want participants to leave with the confidence, connections and practical resources to take their next step — and help their teams do the same.”

The facilitator lineup included:

• Goutham Balaraman of Crossroads on automating credit decisions
• David Giller of Brainiate on preparing workflows for automation
• Ryan Ragland of Valiant on AI in origination
• Steven Siler of North Mill Equipment Finance on starting small and proving results
• Deborah Reuben of TomorrowZone and Moto Tohda of Tokyo Century (USA) Inc. on building shared understanding
• Tawnya Stone of GreatAmerica and Joseph Bradley of JMB X on scaling leadership and expertise with Identic AI
• Scott Nelson of Reuleaux and Zachary Kimball of Hardfin on robotics as an emerging asset class
• Sohini Roy of 3Degrees on equipment finance’s role as both a funder and user of AI;
• Kristin Esche of Agiloft on accelerating AI adoption with practical guardrails.

Across the sessions, participants explored how to reduce repetitive work, improve decision-making and create capacity for higher-value contributions. Conversations connected immediate opportunities within individual businesses with broader shifts in how equipment is financed, how teams work and how organizations manage risk.

From Shared Insights to Business Action

Bringing the day’s discussions together, Henry identified three themes with direct implications for equipment finance leaders: structure matters more than enthusiasm, human judgment becomes more valuable as AI advances, and AI’s effects extend beyond any single workflow.

The first theme centered on disciplined execution. The approaches shared throughout the event relied on documented processes, clear decision frameworks, focused tasks and defined measures of success. Examples included standard operating procedures, layered approaches to credit decisions and manageable automation projects—all reinforcing the importance of understanding the work before choosing how to automate it.

The second theme emphasized that human involvement goes beyond reviewing AI’s output. Underwriters still own credit decisions, legal professionals still review outcomes and business teams help define the problems being solved. Drawing on the sessions, Henry emphasized that human expertise, accountability and judgment become more important as technology takes on more work.

The third theme addressed AI’s broader organizational implications. Robotics and usage-based models create opportunities to rethink underwriting. Faster project execution can unlock greater value when teams are prepared to put the resulting work into practice. Clear governance gives employees a framework for using AI responsibly and confidently. Together, these developments invite leaders to align people, processes and operating models to support lasting progress.

Henry connected these themes to strategic planning, encouraging attendees to identify specific opportunities where AI could strengthen their businesses. Pointing to organizations already translating ideas into results, he highlighted the opportunity for equipment finance leaders to help shape the industry’s future.

“These people aren’t waiting for the industry to figure AI out. They are the industry figuring it out,” Henry said. Their progress, he emphasized, started with recognizing a business need and committing to act. “What they have in common is they saw an opportunity to do something different and they went and did it.”

As attendees look ahead to their 2027 plans, Henry urged them to recognize how accessible meaningful change has become: “It has never been faster or cheaper to do something disruptive in the marketplace than it is right now.”

The takeaway for attendees was practical: bring the learning into their next business decision, team discussion or planning cycle. Whether drafting a standard operating procedure, mapping a credit process or identifying a focused pilot, participants left with concrete starting points for moving forward.

Continuing the Work

The learning will continue with the Converge AI Playbook, which attendees will receive with session summaries, actionable tools, frameworks and supporting research to put into practice with their teams. Building on that momentum, two Converge events are planned for 2027: a follow-up exploring AI’s continued evolution and a discussion focused on attracting, retaining and developing talent in equipment finance.