MEMBER SPOTLIGHT Cracchiolo Takes the Helm New ELFA Chairman brings decades of experience and fresh vision to his role By Gwen Moran N A WORLD focused on quick achievements and immediate return-on-investment, it’s rare to find someone who exhibits short-term success, but also has an eye on the horizon and a commitment to building toward something better. ELFA found such a professional in 2017 Chairman Anthony “Tony” Cracchiolo, President and CEO of U.S. Bank Equipment Finance. I An Experienced Leader A 35-year veteran of the industry, Cracchi-olo has a long history of building talent. In his current position, he leads and oversees U.S. Bank Equipment Finance’s operations, Anthony “Tony” Cracchiolo including nine business units ranging from small business and technology finance to capital equipment and government leasing and finance. He has been with U.S. Bank since 2007 and has been instrumen-tal in growing their vendor channel businesses, including office equipment, healthcare, manufacturing and technology vendor services, as well as the division’s syndications group. Prior to joining U.S. Bank, Cracchiolo held the position of Managing Director of CitiCapital Vendor Finance for Busi-ness Technology. He started his career at Citi and remained there for a remarkable 29 years, ultimately overseeing world-wide financial networks for the company as well as all aspects of the leasing business. He also supervised company-wide restructuring projects, bringing a wealth of industry expe-rience to his post. Focusing on 2017 As Cracchiolo takes over the ELFA helm, he does so with a mixture of optimism and vision. With a contentious elec-tion decided, he believes some of the hesitation that is com-mon during elections will abate and more companies will begin spending again. He forecasts that the new admin-istration’s business-friendly positions could spur industry growth and move the business climate from a “replacement economy” to an “expansion economy,” which would be good news for members. In the immediate future, he sees ELFA playing a key role in shaping policy. He points to the industry’s long involve-42 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017 EQUIPMENT LEASING & FINANCE MAGAZINE ment in the new lease accounting standards as an example of the association’s influence. As focus shifts to tax policy and regulatory matters, such as reducing corporate tax rates and possibly eliminating some loopholes, he sees an opportunity for ELFA to bring similar insight to the policymaking process. “As we go forward, given the administration changes as well as the discussions in the political circles around chang-ing tax policy, ELFA is going to be focused on that quite a bit,” he says, noting that ELFA’s federal and state government relations teams are already hard at work advocating for the best interests of the industry. He is also working with current and former ELFA Board members to build an infrastructure of seasoned professionals knowledgeable about the industry to work with state-level governments. With more than 5,000 municipalities and 50 states, he says that new regulations and their impact are a constant concern for members. By tapping former Board members to help educate state and local governments about the industry, he says the organization’s impact can be more significant and useful. Cracchiolo also points to building the industry overall as a key objective. He fully supports ELFA’s efforts to promote diversity and expansion of the Women in Leasing program, which is focused on elevating more women to leadership roles in the industry and the association. A new task force has been formed to identify how ELFA can get more women into senior roles in the leasing industry and explore ways to drive diversity within the association. In addition, he is enthusiastic about progress being made by the Emerging Talent Advisory Council, which identifies rising junior talent within companies and involves them in efforts to attract the best and brightest to the industry. Continued outreach to colleges and universities through the Guest Lecture Program is helping to promote equipment fi-nance as a viable career option, raising the industry’s profile. “The association’s challenge is that we’ve got to contin-ue to keep the efforts going, even though the Chairperson moves on. That’s why it’s so important to have long-term