FOUNDATION NEWS By Chelsea Neil 15 Minutes with the New Chairman of the Foundation Th e Foundation has a new Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Bill Verhelle of Harvard Partners LLC. Bill graciously allowed me to interview him aft er 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. Th e Foundation will continue doing this and will continue to serve as a thought leader in the equip-ment finance industry. New services and programming ideas have been sug-gested that the Foundation might un-dertake to more broadly serve the equip-ment fi nance industry and its members. Th is year the leadership of the Founda-tion 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. 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 In-dustry Future Council meeting. I came away from the IFC meeting more excited than ever to work in this industry. We are entering a very excit-ing time. More than ever before, par-ticipants in the commercial equipment fi nance 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 im-minent transition in employee de-mographics and the emergence of transformative new technologies are driving rapid change. Th ese changes create unprecedented opportunities for innovative, adaptable firms that will embrace new business models. ment fi nance industry. People work-ing in this industry help companies acquire the equipment they need to grow, to expand employment and to improve communities across the Unit-ed States and abroad. Th e 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 some-thing back to help sustain this industry for future generations. What are three things that most people don’t know about you? My fi rst 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 under-graduate 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 busi-ness partner Guy Klingler and I start-ed First American Commercial Ban-corp, Inc. dba First American Equip-ment 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. 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 fi nance industry. 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 equip-Chairman Bill Verhelle (far right) joins Industry Future Council members in a trend mapping exercise. 54 MARCH/APRIL 2016 EQUIPMENT LEASING & FINANCE MAGAZINE