Chelsea Neil 2016-03-17 22:52:31
15 Minutes with the New Chairman of the Foundation
The Foundation has a new Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Bill Verhelle of Harvard Partners LLC. Bill graciously allowed me to interview him after the Industry Future Council Meeting. Here is a peek at the person leading the Foundation.
The Foundation has changed its mission recently. What new programming is anticipated?
For the past decade the Foundation has focused on producing forward-looking industry research. The Foundation will continue doing this and will continue to serve as a thought leader in the equipment finance industry. New services and programming ideas have been suggested that the Foundation might undertake to more broadly serve the equipment finance industry and its members. This year the leadership of the Foundation will talk with people throughout the industry to best determine how we might expand our role to best serve the industry in the years to come.
Chairman Bill Verhelle (far right) joins Industry Future Council members in a trend mapping exercise.
What impact do you want the Foundation to have on the industry?
Many years ago someone told me they contribute to the Foundation because the Foundation works to transform this great industry into a profession. The idea of elevating the industry has always inspired me. I hope any expansion of future Foundation services is driven by the highest future aspirations for the commercial equipment finance industry.
The Industry Future Council took place in late January. What are your takeaways as Chairman of the Foundation?
We had a great two-day, off-site Industry Future Council meeting. I came away from the IFC meeting more excited than ever to work in this industry. We are entering a very exciting time. More than ever before, participants in the commercial equipment finance industry have the potential to build something new and different, which will change this industry for many years to come. As with many other mature industries, changes in customer buying preferences, an imminent transition in employee demographics and the emergence of transformative new technologies are driving rapid change. These changes create unprecedented opportunities for innovative, adaptable firms that will embrace new business models.
What value does the Foundation provide that keeps corporate and individual donors pledging year after year?
Many people feel very fortunate to have worked in the commercial equipment finance industry. People working in this industry help companies acquire the equipment they need to grow, to expand employment and to improve communities across the United States and abroad. The Foundation and ELFA have together served as an ethical compass for the entire industry as it has successfully grown to become a $1 trillion annual industry. I believe many Foundation donors appreciate the opportunity to work in this great industry, and they wish to give something back to help sustain this industry for future generations.
What are three things that most people don't know about you?
My first small business (started as a teenager) was a landscaping and snow removal business in the Detroit area, which I ran while attending night school at Wayne State University in downtown Detroit. I eventually sold the business and completed my undergraduate education at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
My wife Cyndee and I were both born and raised in Detroit, although we didn't meet until I was living in southern California aft er graduating from Michigan.
During my first year as a law school student at Cornell, my business partner Guy Klingler and I started First American Commercial Bancorp, Inc. dba First American Equipment Finance. We ran the company together for nearly two decades until its sale to City National Bank (now Royal Bank of Canada). We remain close friends.
Chelsea Neil is Program Assistant for the Foundation.
INDUSTRY CONFIDENCE LOWER IN FEBRUARY AMID UNCERTAINTY
ACCORDING TO the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation's Monthly Confidence Index, confidence in the equipment finance market was 48.3 in February, with uncertainty on various fronts cited for the decrease from the January index of 54.0.
When asked about the outlook for the future, MCI-EFI survey respondent Harry Kaplun, President, Specialty Finance, Frost Bank, said, “Uncertainty on the international front and with energy markets is creating capital expenditure restraint. More clarity should emerge in the second half of 2016.”
Foundation Monthly Confidence Index
Key Findings:
In February, 3.2% of executives believed business conditions would improve over the next four months, down from 10.7% in January. Another 71.0% believed conditions would remain the same, down from 78. 6% in January, while 25.8% expected conditions to worsen, up from 10.7% the previous month.
A total of 3.2% of survey respondents believed demand for leases and loans to fund capital expenditures (capex) would increase over the next four months, down from 10.7% in January. Another 61.3% believed demand would remain the same, down from 71.4% the previous month, while 35.5% expected demand to decline, up from 17.9% in January.
Some 16.1% of executives expected more access to capital to fund equipment acquisitions over the next four months, down from 17.9% in January. Another 71.0% expected the same access to capital, down from 75.0% the previous month, while 12. 9% expected less access to capital, up from 7.1% in January.
When asked, 29.0% of the executives expected to hire more employees over the next four months, down from 32.1% in January. Another 64.5% expected no change in headcount, unchanged from January, while 6.5% expected to hire fewer employees, up from 3.6% in January.
None of the leadership evaluated the current U. S. economy as excellent, down from 3. 6% in January. A total of 96.8% evaluated the economy as fair, up from 92.9% in January, while 3.2% rated it as poor, relatively unchanged from January.
In February, 6.5% believed U.S. economic conditions would get better over the next six months, up from 3.6% in January. Another 67. 7% believed the economy would stay the same, down from 75.0% the previous month, while 25.8% believed conditions would worsen, up from 21.4% in January.
Finally, 41.9% of respondents believed their company would increase spending on business development activities during the next six months, up from 35.7% in January. Another 48. 4% expected no change in business development spending, down from 64.3% the previous month, while 9.7% forecast a decrease in spending, up from none who believed so last month.
Access the latest Monthly Confidence Index at www.leasefoundation.org/research/mci/.
Survey Comments from Industry Executive Leadership:
“A flat domestic economy, muffled by presidential election uncertainty, will subdue growth in our industry for 2016.”
Paul Menzel, President & CEO, Financial Pacific Leasing, LLC
“I think we are beginning to see a bit of a pullback in the small business space. Even though application volume is steady, we are seeing fewer deals being closed. Seems like uncertainty about the economy is creeping in.”
David T. Schaefer, CEO, Mintaka Financial, LLC
“Targeted business volumes seem to be holding in all of our business segments, but the big question is what will the impact of lower oil prices and the apparent negative sentiment created in the energy and banking community do to slow the rest of the economy?”
William H. Besgen, Vice Chairman Board of Directors, Hitachi Capital America Corp.
“Capital is still readily available. Banks and lending institutions are trying to get money out the door.”
Thomas Partridge, President, Fifth Third Equipment Finance
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