5 Minutes with the Captive and Vendor Finance Chair

What’s happening with captive and vendor finance companies in the equipment finance space? Equipment Leasing & Finance magazine recently caught up with Troy Graziani, Chair of the Captive and Vendor Finance Business Council Steering Committee (BCSC), to take the pulse of this sector. Graziani, who is Director of Corporate Operations and Business Intelligence at Toyota Industries Commercial Finance, Inc., is currently serving his second year as Chair of the committee, which represents ELFA member companies that provide vendor financing programs, either as a subsidiary of a manufacturer or an independent, third-party organization.

Troy Graziani, Chair
Captive and Vendor Finance BCSC

From your perspective, on what hot topics is the Captive and Vendor Finance sector focused this year?

The topics that continue to dominate our ELFA roundtables and conference calls include electronic contracts, robotic process automation, blockchain, machine learning and decisions and solution financing. Plus engaging and developing newer generations of talent to lead the transformation of the industry. Most companies in our committee may have slightly different approaches but are generally focused on the same things. At Toyota, staying ahead of the times through endless creativity, curiosity and pursuit of improvement is a core value and building block of our culture across the globe.

Thinking toward the future, I try to spend a few minutes each day imagining what our industry will look like in 20 years. At the deepest core of equipment finance, we effectively provide the commodity of capital. We differentiate through many avenues—price, service, availability, business lines, partnerships, location, etc. What it would take for an outsider to enter our market and completely disrupt it? The “Amazon” of financing, in a sense. Approaching problems with that mindset helps keep me focused on change. Nobody is bulletproof.

How did you get involved with the BCSC? Would you recommend it to others?
I was new to the industry and to ELFA about five years ago and was asked if I’d be interested in participating in the Captive & Vendor Finance BCSC. It’s been a great way to network with industry peers who share common issues. The dialogue is always insightful and provides an opportunity to think about things differently.

What was the last book you read?

The last book I read was It’s the Manager published by Gallup Press. It’s a quasi-quant approach toward leadership. The book goes into several topics around workforce management but succinctly concludes that the quality of managers and team leaders is the single biggest factor in an organization’s long-term success. Also, an individual’s overall happiness and engagement at a company is overwhelmingly a result of the working relationship they have with their direct boss. A highly recommended read for anyone in corporate America.

Join the Roundtables!

The Captive and Vendor Finance, Financial Institutions, Independent Middle Market and Small Ticket BCSCs are planning best practices roundtables, to be held April 21 in Chicago. See details at www.elfaonline.org/events.