Andrew K. Alper is a partner with the law firm of Frandzel Robbins Bloom & Csato, L.C. in Los Angeles

Carl C. Chrappa leads The Alta Group’s Asset Management Services practice, with more than 35 years of international experience in equipment trading, appraisals, litigation support, portfolio valuations and equipment management.

David Wiener, a managing director with The Alta Group, has been respected in the disciplines of sales, credit and capital markets/syndications within the equipment finance industry for more than 35 years. He is regarded as a leading authority on equipment finance data and demographics analysis.

Dexter Van Dango is a pen name for a real person who is a senior executive with more than 25 years of experience in the equipment leasing industry. A self-described portly, middle-aged, graying, balding leasing guy in the twilight of a mediocre career, Van Dango will provide occasional insight from the front lines via Monitor.

Jeff Tanenbaum, CAI, CES, is an executive managing director at Tiger Group. Based in Westlake Village, CA, he can be reached at jtanenbaum@tigergroup.com.

Joe Sebik is a CPA who has worked in the equipment finance industry since 1980. Currently employed by Siemens Financial Services, he has worked for PwC, IBM Credit, Citicorp Global Equipment Finance, Chase Equipment Leasing and JPMorgan’s Tax-Oriented Investments group. His roles have spanned all aspects of equipment finance, from auditing to financial reporting to transaction structuring and marketing to tax reporting. He has been on the ELFA’s Accounting Committee for more than 13 years and has been the chairman of the ELFA’s Federal Tax Committee since 2013. He has written extensively about the industry including numerous technical portfolios for Bloomberg/BNA on both lease accounting and the economics of equipment finance.

John Sparta is the Vice President of Healthcare in the Americas region for DLL’s Healthcare Global Business Unit. He is responsible for a portfolio of more than $2 billion as well as annual retail and wholesale new business volume over $1 billion. John previously served as the Managing Director of Philips Medical Capital, LLC, a joint venture of Philips Electronics North America Corporation and DLL which supports the medical equipment business of Philips in North America.With more than 20 years in the equipment finance industry, John has established a record of strong performance in areas including the management of large teams, strategic planning and analysis, and major account program management. John has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Cabrini University.DLL is a global vendor finance company with EUR 30 billion in assets. Founded in 1969 and headquartered in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, DLL provides asset-based financial solutions in the Agriculture, Food, Healthcare, Clean Technology, Construction, Transportation, Industrial and Office Technology industries.

Kenneth P. Weinberg is a shareholder at Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, P.C., and practices in the area of commercial finance, focusing on equipment leasing, equipment finance and renewable energy project finance. He has penned Dispatches from the Trenches since 2002.

Kristen is a communication specialist at Siemens Financial Services (SFS), a division of Siemens AG. In this role, Kristen manages all externally facing US digital and social media properties and content curation. This includes content management and positioning for the company's regional website, managing the organization's organic and paid search advertising efforts and leading content development. Kristen advises and manages the SFS executive leadership team program online, which includes supporting two C-suite members with their online profiles (Twitter, LinkedIn). In addition to a focus in external social media, she supports the organization's corporate communication efforts. This includes all employee and executive communication in support of a regional CEO and his sales/leadership team. Kristen loves to write and finds curating content for employee audiences across newsletters, executive letters and internal social media to be one of the most rewarding and engaging elements to her job.Prior to Siemens, Kristen completed an M.A. in Digital Communication from Rutgers University and spent two years as a Corporate Communication Graduate Fellow at Johnson & Johnson. In this role, she completed rotations in both their strategic organizational communication and media relations teams. Kristen has nearly six years of experience working across multiple industries for Fortune 100 brands, including healthcare, financial services, higher education and consumer products.

Linda Kester is a bestselling author and professional speaker with 25 years of experience in leasing sales and marketing management. As founder of the Institute of Personal Development, Kester has helped hundreds of salespeople increase their volume. Her book, 366 Marketing Tips for Equipment Leasing, has produced results for leasing companies in the U.S., UK and Australia. For more information, visit lindakester.com.

Lisa A. Miller has worked in the equipment finance and ABL industry for nearly two decades. While senior marketing communications manager at Key Equipment Finance, she began writing executive by-lined articles for the Monitor. As a freelance writer, she continues to write for the Monitor, ABF Journal and other business and marketing publications. She resides in Saratoga Springs, New York.

Patrick Gaskins is senior vice president of Sales and Operations, Capital Equipment Solutions, for Corcentric (formerly AmeriQuest Business Services). In his role, he oversees the sales and syndications functions of the Capital Equipment Solutions department. He has over 25 years of experience as a financial services professional in the transportation industry.

Rita E. Garwood is managing editor of Monitor and ABF Journal.

Shawn Halladay brings 30 years of experience as a lessor, trainer, consultant and auditor to his position as managing director and leader of The Alta Group’s Professional Development practice.