Joining the Leasing Foundation for 2013 as the first of our international interns is Gila Birk, a Master’s student at Brunel Business School, London. Birk studied communications management at Universität Osnabrück, Germany, founded and ran her own communications and event management company, has worked with global PR agency Edelman and with Media Consulta GmbH for the European Commission, and in corporate communications for Volkswagen. She has also been part of the organizing team for Council for the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings.

She will work with the foundation on a number of projects including our Annual Conference and Women in Leasing.

The mission of the Leasing Foundation is to support the leasing and asset finance industry by providing focus and organization for charitable activities, by performing rigorous, challenging and relevant research in areas that impact the industry and its future, and by seeking opportunities to sustain the industry by developing people in the industry. The Foundation is not a lobbying body or a trade association.

Programs include: LFGiving, events that donate to a range of charities; LFResearch, an annual independent research report shared across the industry; LFWomen in Leasing, to bring together and encourage the development of women in the industry; LFFuture Leaders, to develop the new entrants to the industry; and The Leasing Fellows, an invitation-only community of the leading thinkers in leasing and asset finance.