Monitor

Congratulations to Lilibeth Martinez of Assurant for being recognized as a 2024 Monitor NextGen Leader. If Lilibeth Martinez could change one thing about the equipment finance industry, she would focus on creating a clear path for developing the next generation of leaders. This would involve mentorship, training programs, and opportunities for young professionals to develop their skills and take on leadership roles. The enduring goal is to cultivate the next generation of capable leaders and ensure a strong future for the industry. “As current leaders execute succession plans, we have a significant opportunity to engage in meaningful dialogue with our future leaders,” Martinez says. In her opinion, this process entails accepting the baton from the industry’s most influential pioneers and driving ahead, equipped with the wisdom and guidance of those who laid the foundation, along with contemporary technology and innovative perspectives on what can be achieved. In the near future, Martinez would like to see the industry embrace evolving technology to modernize equipment finance. In her role as assistant vice president, account management at Assurant, Martinez has observed the introduction of automation and artificial intelligence elements into the consumer side of the lending landscape. “Leveraging some of these innovations for the commercial side will allow our industry to modernize and become nimbler when facing the inherent challenges to our collective growth,” Martinez says. Within her role, Martinez loves the challenge of adeptly managing Assurant’s existing clients while consistently adding new clients and cultivating potential leads. She has learned that this process is best driven by fostering enduring, collaborative relationships. In her time with the company, Martinez’s roles have spanned finance, business transformation and, currently, account management. These varied yet connected positions have given Martinez the foundational experience to evolve her leadership style, increase her business acumen and contribute to the growth and success of Assurant. Explore the 2024 NextGen Flipbook & Digital Editions: https://lnkd.in/epE9ddUU #monitor #flipbook #digital #edition #nextgen #40under40 #congrats

Nominations are closing next Friday for Monitor’s annual Industry Icon awards, which will appear in our Sept/Oct issue, featuring profiles of industry leaders in the categories below. Nominate Now: https://lnkd.in/e-bc__4A Pioneer A trailblazer who was the first to try something new that has been adopted by the industry. Past Pioneers: Tony Golobic, Reid Raykovich, Bill Phelan, Dan Michalek, Deborah Baker and Bette Kerhoulas Veteran An individual who has weathered several economic cycles and has created a legacy of performance and contribution. Past Veterans: Adam Warner, Rich Doherty, Crit DeMent, Joe Nachbin, Bill Carey and Don Campbell Current Leader A current, high-ranking equipment finance leader who uses creativity, knowledge and influence to strategically direct their organization. Past Current Leaders: Terey Jennings, Eric McGriff, Nancy Robles, Amy Gross and Miles Herman Disruptor An innovative current leader with a company or technology that is changing the industry (future pioneer). Past Disruptors: Mark Tomaselli, Bill Verhelle, Deborah Reuben and Robert Preville NextGen A rising leader who has demonstrated tenacity, creativity and drive to keep the industry relevant and competitive. Past NextGen: Kara Miyasato, Allison Conley, Lexie Dressman, Ricardo Rios and Kevin Hall You may make as many nominations as you would like, but please submit a separate form for each nomination. Nomination Deadline: Next Friday, August 9th #monitor #nominations #industry #icon #submit #open #nominate #now

Congratulations to Kevin O'Connor of Beacon Funding for being recognized as a 2024 Monitor NextGen Leader. Kevin O’Connor has been working in the financial services industry since his graduation from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He began in commercial lending before joining Beacon Funding in 2018. With a primary focus on the continued development of the sales team, O’Connor collaborates with department leaders to improve the product and overall process. O’Connor and Beacon Funding are aligned on core principles — hard work, accountability, and trusted partnerships — which are essential for the success of the organization and its people. O’Connor believes that the people, rather than the product, truly make a company successful, and is grateful to his company for fostering a community where these core principles are practiced daily. The collaborative approach that O’Connor takes as a leader helps make Beacon Funding a continued staple in the industry. His leadership style is based on the feedback and accountability that add to Beacon Funding’s culture, which promotes communication, a positive atmosphere and a stronger product. To O’Connor, the biggest opportunity for the equipment finance industry comes from partnerships. He advocates for creating trusted partnerships with the customer and vendor base, as well as between lenders and internally across all departments. Maintaining these relationships requires hard work, says O’Connor, and the importance of doing so in an environment presents frequent challenges. “Finding the right partnerships for your organization is only the first step to success,” O’Connor says. Beyond partnerships, O’Connor notes the necessity of collaboration across departments in order to achieve quality originations. With continued efforts to navigate the unexpected, O’Connor is confident the industry will continue to overcome challenges so long as lenders continue to embrace change and find effective ways to help businesses grow. Explore the 2024 NextGen Flipbook & Digital Editions: https://lnkd.in/epE9ddUU #monitor #flipbook #digital #edition #nextgen #40under40 #congrats

Within the soon-to-be priorities for a sample of Monitor’s NextGen honorees are data management, transparency (especially given increased regulatory scrutiny) and environmental, social and government concerns. Mark Grayeck, country sales manager of DLL, specifically predicts a push toward ownership versus leasing as the secondary market and digital marketplace continue to evolve together, and as the Internet continues to remove the “mystery” of fair market value at the end of term. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eWh992PZ Billy Bagnell | LEAF Commercial Capital, Inc. Mark L. Grayeck, MBA | DLL Sloane Hudok | Solifi John Pfister, CLFP | MAZO Capital Solutions Nicole White, CLFP | First Citizens Bank #monitor #top #story #equipment #finance #tech #talent #transformation

Congratulations to Joseph Vu of QuickFi for being recognized as a 2024 Monitor NextGen Leader. Joseph Vu was not a marketing major in college, nor was he involved in business. Rather, he graduated with a degree in biology and spent a year as a pharmaceutical sales representative. He then entered art school, which he reflects on as playing into his development as a marketer over the years. He developed a firm understanding of empirical data, controlled testing, sales tenacity, dealing with failure and leading with creativity. Today, Vu heads the marketing department at QuickFi as senior vice president of marketing, a position he’s held for the past five years. In this role, Vu has benefited from the trust QuickFi leadership places in him to try new tactics, lead with new ideas and contribute in ways that are both impactful and meaningful to the business. For Vu, the biggest challenge and the biggest opportunity for the equipment finance industry are the same: emerging technology, particularly the integration of artificial intelligence. “Many people will be disrupted by this, and I’m already seeing it in marketing,” Vu says. “Creative output has become a commodity in less than a year, with Dall-E, Midjourney and the integration of AI into the Adobe Creative Suite.” Vu believes this disruption doesn’t necessarily mean “doom.” In fact, he believes there are ways to adopt these technologies that makes users more creative. In a personal anecdote, Vu shares that he used to spend days voicing over videos. Now, he can type in a prompt and have the same quality voiceovers in seven languages in less than five minutes. “As leaders, we’re often conductors of all of these inputs, and if you’re able to weave these technologies together as a discipline in your tech stack, it becomes a competitive advantage,” Vu says. “The scale and the magnitude of our work is only going to increase.” Explore the 2024 NextGen Flipbook & Digital Editions: https://lnkd.in/epE9ddUU #monitor #flipbook #digital #edition #nextgen #40under40 #congrats

In a financial services sector that has fallen behind others in terms of technological advances, emerging technology is going to be a game-changer for equipment finance leaders who prepare themselves, their teams and their companies for innovation. In this episode of The Mind, Deborah Baker, head of global payment solutions at HP, shares her perspective, as a leader of the financial services division for a technology company, on the challenges and benefits of emerging technology, as well as HP’s recent innovation initiatives. Watch The Full Video: https://lnkd.in/e7Dq6GM8 #suite #monitor #finance #emerging #technology #second #life #solutions

Congratulations to MMP Capital on being recognized as a 2024 Monitor Top 40 Vendor Finance Leader. Explore the 2024 NextGen Flipbook & Digital Editions: https://lnkd.in/epE9ddUU? #monitor #flipbook #digital #edition #top40 #vendor #finance #congrats

Equipment finance is in dire need of fresh perspectives, and who better to turn to for this essential, out-of-the-box thinking than the next generation of leaders? Matt Diehl caught up with NextGen attendees of Monitor’s Converge 2024 conference to discuss what they need from senior leaders to be successful, as well as their thoughts on what is currently — and what will soon be — important for the industry. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gVirNN3G Matthew Diehl | LEAF Commercial Capital, Inc. Lauren Aron | LEAF Commercial Capital, Inc. Mikki Henkelman, CLFP | Oakmont Capital Services - JA Mitsui Leasing Group Garrett Kautz, VP, CLFP | 1st Source Bank Martin Klotzman | Ivory Consulting Corporation Catherine Lee | EverBank Scott Ogden | SCJ Commercial Financial Services Camtu Vo | DLL #monitor #top #story #equipment #finance #nextgen #change #makers

Congratulations to Jenaleigh Lathrop, CLFP of Arvest Bank Equipment Finance for being recognized as a 2024 Monitor NextGen Leader. Jenaleigh Lathrop embarked on her banking journey with Arvest Bank in 2011. Over eight years and across four diverse roles, she transitioned to a sales support specialist in the equipment finance division, Arvest Equipment Finance (AEF), following her previous role as a commercial loan assistant. This transition exposed her to the vastness of equipment finance, sparking her passion for continuous learning. In November 2021, Lathrop began contributing to the implementation of Salesforce, playing a pivotal role in testing, procedure creation and communication. By December 2022, she became an equipment finance trainer, tasked with developing a training program and collaborating closely with all AEF associates. At AEF, Lathrop has worked on several special projects, notably creating a comprehensive procedure manual by consolidating documents and procedures, a resource she still maintains. As a credit analyst, she spearheaded an internal training program dubbed the “AEF Acceleration Program,” designed to provide a holistic understanding of AEF to servicing specialists. Over the years, this program has been redeveloped so that anyone at AEF can better understand where they fit into the AEF puzzle and increase collaboration and rapport amongst teams. The state of economic uncertainty is the biggest challenge Lathrop sees facing the industry today. She views it as the industry’s collective responsibility to guide customers to the best solutions, as many are uncertain about their next steps. Lathrop believes that educational initiatives led by equipment finance associations will be pivotal in equipping individuals with the knowledge and skills necessary to provide optimal solutions. As a member of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association’s Emerging Talent Advisory Council, Lathrop champions increased participation in industry associations. She aims to inspire the younger generation to recognize the industry’s vast opportunities through networking events and conferences. She also hopes to empower others to unite and advocate for the industry’s remarkable contributions, fueling economic growth one financing solution at a time. Explore the 2024 NextGen Flipbook & Digital Editions: https://lnkd.in/epE9ddUU #monitor #flipbook #digital #edition #nextgen #40under40 #congrats

Curious about innovation bacon? Discover the secrets of effective leadership in our latest TomorrowZone Catalyst podcast episode, the first in our Innovator Success Series. Join Deborah Reuben, CLFP and Jennifer Martin, CLFP as they discuss the power of vulnerability, transitioning from tactical to strategic thinking, and the essential role of empathy and trust in fostering innovation. Tune in for practical insights and inspiring stories that will help you lead with confidence and creativity. Stay tuned for the next episode in this series! #Leadership #Innovation #TomorrowZone #Podcast #BusinessTransformation