The Honorable Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr.

Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr. ELFA President

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Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr. is President and Chief Operating Officer of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association responsible for the day-to-day management of the association and its staff. Based in Washington, D.C., the ELFA is the premier trade association representing companies in the $650 billion equipment finance sector, which includes financial services companies and manufacturers engaged in financing the utilization and investment of and in capital goods. Its more than 700 members include independent and captive leasing and finance companies, banks, financial services corporations, broker/packagers and investment banks, as well as manufacturers and service providers.

Mr. Bentsen's background is in fiscal, financial and economic policy with more than 25 years of professional experience combining public policy, finance, organizational management and strategic counsel. He is regularly invited to appear on television news programs to discuss fiscal, economic and financial policy matters and is relied upon by major print and primary wire services for his expertise and perspective involving Washington and Wall Street. Prior to joining ELFA, Mr. Bentsen was a Managing Director of Public Strategies, Inc. where he specialized in providing strategic guidance to large corporations and trade associations in the financial services sector.

Mr. Bentsen represented the 25th District in Texas in the U.S. House of Representatives (1995 to 2003). As a senior member of both the House Budget and Financial Services Committees, Bentsen helped craft the legislation to modernize the nation's banking and securities laws known as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act which enhanced federal oversight of U.S. capital markets. Prior to serving in the U.S. Congress, Mr. Bentsen was an investment banker in Houston and New York, specializing in municipal and housing finance. He was a senior banker for numerous structured-finance, mortgage-backed, special purpose and general government transactions.

Mr. Bentsen is committed to and an active member of a number of educational, civic and charitable boards. He was elected as Chairman of the Board of The Susan G. Komen For The Cure®, serving from 2007 to 2009 and is a member of the Board of its sister organization, The Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Advocacy Alliance. He is a member of the Development Board of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and the San Jacinto Museum of Texas History. Mr. Bentsen also serves on the Executive Board of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University.

Mr. Bentsen earned a BA in Political Science from the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas, and an MPA from American University.