BUSINESS COUNCIL UPDATES Business Councils Gather on Capitol Hill A S THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION settles into the nation’s capital, ELFA’s Business Council Steering Committees are gearing up to gather in Washington, D.C., as part of the Capitol Connections program, May 18–19. The five committees, which represent ELFA’s five key business segments, are an integral part of ELFA operations, providing critical input on the direction of the association, meeting the needs of members in their respective areas and serving as a bridge between the members and the Board of Directors and staff. Following are highlights of the activities under way by the committees, including updates on the sector roundtables planned for April 4 in Chicago. Captive and Vendor Finance BCSC This committee represents the constituency group within ELFA that provides vendor financing, either as a subsidiary of a manufacturer or on an independent, third-party basis or a hybrid of the two. A major initiative for the committee is planning the Captive and Vendor Finance Best Practices Roundtable for senior executives, to be held April 4 at the Swissôtel Chicago, preceding the National Funding Conference. To learn more and register, visit www.elfaonline.org/events/2017/CBP . The committee is in the process of trying to assess and understand the needs of its constituents through an elec-tronic survey distributed in January to all members of this Business Council. A subgroup within the committee is busy analyzing the results and determining how to translate those needs into actionable programs or initiatives benefiting cap-tives and vendor-based member organizations. The committee is also focused on meeting its membership targets for 2017; continuing its leadership in contributing to LeasePAC, ELFA’s political action committee; achieving 100% participation in ELFA’s Beige Book; recruiting colleges and universities who may be willing to expose their students to the equipment finance industry as a career choice through the Guest Lecture Program; and supporting the Foundation and its targeted research initiatives. For more information, contact Committee Chair Mike Sweeney (Michael.Sweeney@EverBank.com) or staff liaison Bill Choi (BChoi@elfaonline.org). 10 Guest Lecture Programs and host two local members of Congress in 2017. A subcommittee of this BCSC is planning the April 4 Bank Best Practices Roundtable. This event is designed to bring senior bank executives together to discuss trends af-fecting their companies, market segments and areas of re-sponsibility. Topics planned for this event include: ● ● Hiring and retaining talent ● ● Beneficial ownership ● ● Electronic documents and signatures The roundtable will be held April 4 at the Swissôtel Chi-cago immediately preceding the National Funding Confer-ence. To learn more and register, visit www.elfaonline.org/ events/2017/BankBP . For more information, contact Committee Chair Michael Romanowski (mromanowski@cobank.com) or staff liaison Julie Benson (jbenson@elfaonline.org). Independent Middle Market BCSC This committee engages independent finance and multi-line finance companies involved in transactions between $250,000 and $5 million, either individually or through lines. A major initiative for the committee is planning the April 4 Independent Best Practices Roundtable for senior executives from independent equipment finance companies. This high-ly anticipated and interactive event will include sessions on (1) the future of independent equipment finance led by Dave Schaefer, CEO, Mintaka Financial, LLC; and (2) FinTech led by Bill Verhelle, Chair of the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation and Member, Harvard Partners, LLC, with guest speaker Charles Anderson, CEO, Currency. To learn more and register, visit www.elfaonline.org/events/2017/IR . The committee is also focused on meeting its member-ship targets for 2017 and is planning a member recruitment campaign in March and a member retention campaign in June. Other initiatives include completing five Guest Lecture Program presentations this year; continuing its leadership in Financial Institutions BCSC This committee represents bank-related organizations and other financial institutions involved in single transactions over $5 million. In addition to meeting its membership re-cruitment target, the committee has also set a goal to present 12 MARCH/APRIL 2017 EQUIPMENT LEASING & FINANCE MAGAZINE