The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association named its new board of directors, with Kristine A. Snow, president of Cisco System Capital, as the association’s new board chair and Michael DiCecco, president of Huntington Equipment Finance, as its new chair-elect.

The chair-elect and new board members were recommended by ELFA’s Nominating Committee and approved by a vote of the general membership. The new board will be installed immediately following the final meeting of the 2020 board on Nov. 10.

“The year 2021 marks ELFA’s 60th anniversary, and we are extremely fortunate to have Kris Snow as board chair during the upcoming milestone year,” Ralph Petta, president and CEO of the ELFA, said. “As the worldwide pandemic continues to evolve in the year ahead, Kris’ leadership skills, industry experience and commitment to ELFA will help our association move forward in fulfilling our mission in support of our members during these unprecedented times.”

“I am honored to accept the position of ELFA board chair and will work diligently with the board of directors, staff and our member organizations to achieve and surpass our goals,” Snow said. “As we deal with the uncertainty of the current environment, it can be difficult to look ahead and know how the future will play out. The equipment financing industry, specifically ELFA and its member organizations, continue to be a critical component of business resiliency and economic recovery.”

Snow has more than two decades of commercial leasing and finance experience. She joined Cisco Systems Capital, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cisco Systems, in 2009. As president, she leads the company’s global captive finance and certified remanufactured equipment businesses. Previously, she served as president of global vendor finance at CIT Group.

An active participant in ELFA, Snow served on the board of directors from 2008 to 2011 and returned to the board in 2017. In addition to her current position on the board, she is a member of ELFA’s Executive, Nominating and Personnel Committees. Previously, she served as chair of the Captive and Vendor Finance Business Council Steering Committee. She also has served as a participant in the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation’s Industry Future Council and as a contributor to previous “State of the Equipment Finance Industry” reports.

Outside of ELFA, Snow has been involved in multiple civic and community organizations. She serves on the Gonzaga University board of trustees and is board member emeritus for St. Mary’s College School of Economics and Business Administration. She was honored on the Computer Reseller News 2019 Women of the Channel list and received the Silicon Valley Business Journal’s Women of Influence award and the YWCA Tribute to Women Award for the Silicon Valley.

2021 ELFA Board of Directors
The newly elected members of the ELFA Board of Directors include:

• Mark Duncan, EVP and GM of commercial finance and corporate development for Hitachi Capital America
• David Farrell, managing director and head of capital markets for Bank of America Global Leasing
• RJ Grimshaw, president and CEO of UniFi Equipment Finance
• Amy Gross, EVP of government finance for Key Equipment Finance
• Ricardo A. Rios, president and CEO of Commercial Equipment Finance
• Barry Ripes, VP, financial institutions leader for PayNet, an Equifax Company
• David Verkinderen, SVP of office equipment and manufacturing vendor services for U.S. Bank Equipment Finance

The following individuals were elected by the membership to serve as ELFA vice chairs: Robert Neagle, president of merchant finance at Ascentium Capital, and Robert Boyer, president of BB&T Commercial Equipment Capital. Daniel Krajewski, president and CEO of Sertant Capital, will serve as treasurer.

Paul Stilp, ELFA’s chief financial and operating officer, will serve as secretary and Petta is an ex-officio officer.

Martha Ahlers, president of United Leasing & Finance, is immediate past chair. Other members of the board are:

• Deborah Baker, head of worldwide leasing and financing at HP
• Maureen Carr, managing director at Pacific Western Bank
• Conrad Eimers, president of Vision Financial Group
• Nathan Gibbons, COO of Innovation Finance USA
• Willis Kleinjan, founder and CEO of Northland Capital Equipment Finance
• Alan Mogol, shareholder at Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz
• David Normandin, president and CEO of Wintrust Specialty Finance
• Deborah Reuben, founder and CEO of TomorrowZone
• Thomas Rutherford, president of Crestmark Equipment Finance, a division of MetaBank
• David Walton, president and CEO of Caterpillar Financial Services