Equipment Leasing and Finance Association - Investing Forward

Deborah Baker

VP, Global Payment Solutions
HP Inc.

As Head of Worldwide Leasing and Financing, Deborah Baker is responsible for driving contractual business growth through an optimized, profitable multi-vendor leasing and financing Go to Market (GTM) solution.

Deborah is a finance veteran with almost 30 years’ experience supporting captive and vendor financing. She joined HP from Cisco Systems Capital Corporation where she served as Senior Director, Global Portfolio Services, supporting a $12B Global Portfolio of ~5000 lease and loan customers in over 100 countries, maximizing sales enablement and ensuring fiduciary responsibility.

Prior to joining Cisco Capital in 2011, Deborah spent 10 years with Hewlett-Packard Financial Services at their headquarters in New Jersey supporting end user financing products in the US, Canada and US Public Sector as well as internal (embedded lease) financing products. Prior to Hewlett-Packard Financial Services, she held a variety of roles with CIT (formerly AT&T Capital), including roles in Business Development, Sales and Operations. As a Six Sigma Champion and Talent Ambassador, Deborah is passionate about Process Improvements, Learning and Development and Talent Management.

Deborah is a member of the Board of Directors for the Equipment Leasing and Financing Association (ELFA), the Chair of the ELFA Women’s Council, and a member of ELFA Equality. In addition, Deborah is a member of the Editorial Board of The Monitor publication, The Independent Voice of Equipment Finance. In 2019, she was named one of the Top Women in Equipment Finance by The Monitor.

Deborah holds a BS in Business Administration and an MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison, NJ. She currently resides in Chapel Hill, North Carolina with her husband Chris. Their son Griffin is studying Cybersecurity at the Southern New Hampshire University. Outside of work, Deb enjoys hiking, bicycling and cooking.

Ellen Comeaux

Advisor
The Alta Group LLC

Ellen Comeaux is the SVP, Commercial Division Sales Leader at TIAA Bank. As a member of the Bank’s leadership team, her primary responsibilities include directing originations for the Commercial Lending Division, including ensuring successful execution of key priorities, problem solving and establishing the overall strategic and tactical direction for the Commercial Real Estate and Vendor Equipment Finance business lines.

Ellen leads teams in commercial real estate and vendor equipment finance and reports to John Pataky, Executive Vice President and Chief Banking Officer. She joined TIAA Bank (EverBank) in 2015, after 24 years at GE Capital and most recently served as Chief of Staff for the Chief Banking Officer.

James Cress

Vice President & General Manager
Flex Financial, Stryker

James Cress has been an active member of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) since 2000. He served on the Board of Directors for nearly a decade before being elected Chair in 2024. A former head of ELFA’s political action committee, LeasePAC, Cress’ top focus today is working with President and CEO Leigh Lytle to fortify the association’s advocacy efforts. He is similarly passionate about advancing ELFA efforts to support and mentor the next generation of industry talent. Cress is a long-time supporter of the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation’s efforts in this area and often gives guest lectures to students interested in joining the industry.

In addition to his Board role, Cress serves as Vice President and General Manager of Stryker’s captive finance arm Flex Financial. He leverages more than 30 years of experience in banking and finance to help deliver financial solutions that make it easier for Stryker’s customers to reach their clinical and financial goals. His past experience includes serving as Senior Vice President and Vendor Business Unit Director at National City Commercial Capital and Vice President in Small Business Banking at US Bank before joining Flex Financial/Stryker in 2008.

Cress holds a B.S. in economics and an M.S. in executive leadership and organizational change from Northern Kentucky University.

Diane Croessmann

Director
The Alta Group LLC

Michael DiCecco

Executive Managing Director, Huntington Asset Finance
Huntington Equipment Finance

Michael DiCecco is Executive Managing Director of Huntington Bank’s Asset Finance business which includes asset-based lending, equipment, technology & healthcare finance, vendor & inventory finance, public capital, renewable energy, premium finance, and lender finance. DiCecco, along with a group of colleagues, established Huntington’s equipment finance capabilities in 2001 after starting his career at Star Bank (nka US Bank) in 1988. Over the last 30 years DiCecco has earned increasing responsibilities in equipment finance and commercial banking, including leading Huntington’s commercial bank for Northeast Ohio from 2005-2008.

Active in the industry and community, DiCecco, has served on the Equipment Leasing & Finance Association’s Membership Committee, Financial Institutions Business Council, and from 2014-2017 served on the ELFA Board of Directors and Executive Committee. DiCecco rejoined the ELFA Board of Directors in 2018 and is currently Chair-Elect. Michael is also on the Cuyahoga County Regional Advisory Board for the Boys & Girls Club of Northeast Ohio and an active fundraiser for cancer research through Pelotonia.

DiCecco holds a Bachelor of Science with a concentration in Finance from the College of Mount St. Joseph, and he is a member of the Leadership Cleveland class of 2008. Michael lives in Avon Lake, Ohio with his wife Amy and has three children.

Michael Faulkender

University of Maryland

Michael Faulkender is a Professor of Finance at the Robert H Smith School of Business. Dr. Faulkender served as the Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy at the US Department of Treasury from 2019 to 2021. In that role, he advised the Secretary on domestic and international issues that impacted the economy. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he assisted in negotiating the CARES Act and was the senior Treasury official who led the implementation of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
His research lies at the intersection of financial economics and public policy. Examples include the job impacts of the PPP, corporate capital structure, risk management, corporate liquidity, and executive compensation. His work has received numerous awards and has been cited in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and The New York Times, among others.
Professor Faulkender teaches classes in the MBA and EMBA programs at the Smith School. Professor Faulkender has also served as a faculty member at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, the Kellogg School at Northwestern University, and the Olin School at Washington University in St. Louis.

RJ Grimshaw

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ABLE Leadership, LLC

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Rita McGrath

Expert on Business Strategy in Uncertain Environments, Acclaimed Thinkers50 Thought Leader
Consultant

Rita McGrath is a globally recognized management thinker and one of the world’s leading experts on strategy and growth in uncertain and volatile business environments. The author of Seeing Around Corners: How to Spot Inflection Points in Business Before They Happen, The End of Competitive Advantage: How to Keep Your Strategy Moving as Fast as Your Business and Discovery Driven Growth: A Breakthrough Process to Reduce Risk and Seize Opportunity, audiences value her rare ability to connect cutting edge research to practical business problems. She offers a bold new set of principles for succeeding in our rapidly changing world and presents a fresh strategy playbook. In presentations, she outlines this framework and shares diagnostic tools for organizations looking to identify their next effective strategy and create a fluid and dynamic business environment. McGrath also uses great visuals and interactive exercises during her presentations to illustrate her points.

McGrath is recognized the world over for her expertise. She is consistently ranked in the Top 10 of Thinkers50 business gurus and received the #1 Achievement Award in Strategy in 2013. She has been recognized as one of the top 10 business school professors to follow on Twitter, and the Huffington Post named her one of its 2014 “100 Must Follow” accounts. She was also cited as one of the nine most disruptive thinkers in business by CIOmagazine. McGrath appears regularly on television and is often cited in the press, including the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Financial Times, Businessweek, Fast Company, and Inc, where she authors a regular column, “The Entrepreneurial Strategist.” She also regularly attends the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Acclaimed Business Author. Seeing Around Corners is a prescriptive guide to anticipating and capitalizing on disruptive inflection points shaping the marketplace. Every “overnight” shift is actually the final stage of a process that has been subtly building over time. Armed with the right strategies and tools, smart business leaders can learn to spot inflection points before they hit—and use them to gain a competitive advantage. In The End of Competitive Advantage, McGrath believes the new path to winning means capturing opportunities fast, exploiting them decisively, and then moving on quickly once they are exhausted. In 2013, The End of Competitive Advantage was recognized by Strategy+Business as the No. 1 business book of the year and was also named the No. 1 general business book by 800CEOREAD.

McGrath has also authored three other books. Discovery Driven Growth was heavily endorsed by business thought leaders and named one of Businessweek’s best design and innovation books. Her methodology for planning (originally published in a best-selling Harvard Business Review article) was cited as an antidote to “innovation killers.” Her other books are The Entrepreneurial Mindset and MarketBusters: 40 Strategic Moves that Drive Exceptional Business Growth, which was named one of the best business books of 2005 by strategy+business and featured at a Microsoft CEO Summit.

McGrath has been published in leading academic journals, such as the Harvard Business Review, Strategic Management Journal, and Academy of Management Review. Her best-selling HBR article “Discovery Driven Planning” is recognized now as an early articulation of today’s “lean” startup movement.

History and Expertise. She is an associate professor of management at Columbia Business School and a fellow of the Strategic Management Society, an honor given to those who have had a significant impact on the field. Prior to academia, she was an IT director and founded two start-ups. She received her Ph.D. from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and has degrees with honors from Barnard College and the Columbia School of International and Public Affairs.

Chris Miller

Director Strategic Accounts
DocUsign

Vincent Mollica

VP - Capital Markets & Syndications
PEAC Solutions

Vince Mollica is Managing Director of CIT’s Jacksonville, FL-based Equipment Finance business, providing strategic direction and leadership for its Industrial, Technology, Office Imaging and Lender Finance verticals. Vince joined CIT in 1995 and most recently was Senior Vice President for Business Development and Structured Transactions within the Equipment Finance operation. Prior to this, he held key roles in Vendor Finance, including program management for a number of marquee technology and industrial clients. Earlier in his CIT tenure, Vince supported Corporate Finance functions and additionally held CFO roles across multiple business lines. Prior to joining CIT, he was with Bank of America and Price Waterhouse Coopers. Vince holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Montclair State University.

Robert Neagle

Bob Neagle is currently President and CEO of Finova Capital, LLC and Chair of the ELFA. Prior to this current role, Bob was President and General Manager of the Merchant Finance Division of Ascentium Capital LLC. 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, he 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, he 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.

He previously served 2 terms as a Trustee of the Equipment Leasing and Financing Foundation. Over the years, he has published articles in the JELF and for 30 years has served as a member of the Editorial Review board of the Journal of Equipment Leasing and Finance.


He is a Ph.D. graduate of Loyola University Chicago.

Melissa Orsburne CLFP

VP, Digital Platform Director

Larry Scherzer CLFP

Senior Director
Cisco Systems Capital Corporation

Kris Snow

Kristine (Kris) A. Snow has more than two decades of commercial leasing and finance experience. In 2009, she joined Cisco Systems Capital Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cisco Systems, Inc. As President, she leads the company's global captive finance and certified remanufactured equipment businesses. Kris previously served as President of Global Vendor Finance at CIT Group.

Kris is currently serving as the Chairman of the Board at ELFA. During her tenure, Kris has been an active participant serving on the Board of Directors from 2008-2011 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 has also served as a participant in the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation's Industry Future Council and a contributor to previous “State of the Equipment Finance Industry” reports.

Outside of ELFA, Kris has been involved in numerous 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 by the Computer Reseller News 2019 Women of the Channel list, received the Silicon Valley Business Journal's Women of Influence award, and the YWCA Tribute to Women Award for the Silicon Valley.

Kris holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Gonzaga University and a Master of Business Administration from St. Mary's College of California.

Scott Thacker CPA, CLFP

Chief Executive Officer
Ivory Consulting Corporation

Mr. Thacker is the Chief Executive Officer of Ivory Consulting Corporation, the software and consulting company that has helped define the modern equipment finance industry with the proven software solutions for modeling, analyzing, and pricing equipment leases and loans, managing equipment, and optimizing portfolios.

Scott is the immediate past chair of the Board of Trustees of the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation, where he is founding chair of The 1989 Society, the legacy giving initiative. He is also the founding chair of ELFA Equity, the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association’s (ELFA) diversity, equity, and inclusion initiative.

His previous volunteer roles with the ELFA include being a member of the Board of Directors, a member of the Finance Accounting Committee, chair of the Operations and Technology Committee, and co-director of the Foundation’s Research Committee.

Thacker is a member and DEI lead (leave of absence 2023) of Sand Hill Angels, one of the largest angel investment groups based in Silicon Valley. Previously, he served on the Board of Advisors of StartOut for over ten years and was a judge for the business plan competition for the Wharton Executive MBA program and the Visa Everywhere Initiative. He is a second-generation board member of The Ridgewood School.

Prior to joining Ivory Consulting, he was a partner at Accenture and earlier, a Senior Director at Oracle. Thacker began his career at Arthur Andersen & Co.

Thacker holds an M.B.A. in Finance from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a B.S. in Accounting from Wake Forest University. He holds the C.P.A. (active) and C.L.F.P. certificates.