54 th ELFA ANNUAL CONVENTION CONNECT, ENGAGE, GROW T Over three days, as the rain stopped and the sun came out, 1,000 equipment leasing and fi -nance industry executives packed the JW Mar-riott Hill Country Resort to network, exchange best practices and address critical issues and trends aff ecting the industry. In keeping with the Convention theme, “Connect, Engage, Grow,” attendees established connections with their fellow executives that will enable them to engage in new opportunities and grow , both professionally and personally. Keynote speakers shared timely insights on a range of issues relevant to the industry. Peter Zeihan kicked off the Monday Gen-eral Session with an energetic analysis of the changing geopolitical landscape and its potential impact on business and the United States. At the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation luncheon, Dr. Robert Wescott of Keybridge Research reported that the equip-ment fi nance market is expected to surpass $1 trillion in 2015 for the fi rst time, according to the Foundation’s 2015 State of the Equip-ment Finance Industry report. Following Wescott’s address, Zeihan joined him on stage for a lively Q&A session. At the Tuesday Gen-eral Session, futurist and entrepreneur Salim Ismail highlighted breakthrough technologies that could threaten traditional business mod-els, warning that businesses need to plan for “disruptive innovation” rather than ignore it. Nearly 100 leasing and finance profes-sionals spoke at 21 concurrent breakout sessions and Business Council luncheons on a wide range of topics, including the impending lease accounting changes, the rise of non-standard fi nancing agreements, e-signatures and electronic contract adoption, securitization, lender fi nance, re-energizing the customer journey using big data and more. Peter Zeihan HE MOOD AT THE 54TH ELFA ANNUAL CONVENTION WAS UPBEAT —even the wind and rain that greeted attendees upon arrival in San Antonio didn’t dampen their spirits. From the enthusiastic golfers swinging into action on a soggy course to the Habitat for Humanity volunteers cheerfully traversing a muddy construction site, the industry’s spirit of resiliency was on full display as the conference got underway. friends, memories and growth, both profes-sionally and personally.” He highlighted the Guest Lecture Pro-gram as powerful tool for member engage-ment, encouraging members to download Get Engaged, Says Rinaldi In his Convention address, outgoing Chair-man Bob Rinaldi focused on the Convention theme, saying, “Members have to continue to connect and engage with ELFA so that our in-dustry can continue to grow !” He shared the story of how he became an active participant in ELFA, which he said has resulted in “a rich history of involvement, learning, countless 24 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015 EQUIPMENT LEASING & FINANCE MAGAZINE