Meet ELFA Board Chair Martha Ahlers

Further engaging members to experience more of the value ELFA offers

MARTHA AHLERS has three goals for her tenure as ELFA Board Chair, and all of them include you. First and foremost, she wants member companies to become more engaged in the association to better experience all it has to offer. “I believe some members never fully appreciate the value of ELFA because they don’t actively participate,” says Ahlers. “Those of us who serve on its committees, boards and work groups know how much we and our companies benefit. But there’s a need to educate the rest of our membership about the many opportunities that arise to grow professionally and personally when we become more engaged.”

Ahlers herself is a fitting example. She amplified her engagement in 2013 when she joined ELFA’s Board of Directors at the invitation of former President & CEO Woody Sutton. “It’s a really funny story,” she says. “The PGA was in town looking for a Title Sponsor for what is now the Korn Ferry Tour. The CEO of our company decided that United Leasing & Finance should be the sponsor and understood the importance of the charitable impact and bringing an international audience to our region. As Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, I was interviewed on the Golf Channel about our sponsorship, and Woody saw me. Afterward he asked me to become involved at a higher level in ELFA by joining the Board.”

Ahlers doesn’t play much golf, but her identical twin sister does and played D1 collegiate golf. “She could have gone on to the LPGA, but she chose law school instead,” says Ahlers. “Now she teases me that it’s ‘totally ironic’ that I’m the one who ended up on the Golf Channel!”

Building a Personal Foundation

In the seven years since that invitation, Ahlers has nurtured her commitment to many organizations and efforts. In ELFA, she continues her Board membership and has served on multiple committees, including Fair Business Practices, Executive, Nominating and Personnel. From 2015 to 2016, she was Chair of LeasePAC, ELFA’s nonpartisan federal political action committee. In 2018, she served as the ELFA Board Liaison to the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation. She has also contributed to multiple Foundation studies, including “State of the Equipment Finance Industry” and “U.S. Equipment Finance Market Study.” Additionally, she has participated in the Foundation’s Industry Future Council and supports the Foundation as a donor.

While thus engaged she has also risen in responsibility and stature at United Leasing & Finance. Having joined the company in 1996 as Account Manager, she was promoted to Vice President and COO in 2009, then named President in 2017. As President, her areas of direct involvement include sales, risk management, marketing, credit and operations. “The last 10 years have been amazing,” Ahlers reflects. “Watching the growth of the company and the development of our team makes me extremely proud. Our success could not have been achieved without the passion and engagement of our employees.”

Ahlers also gives time and energy to her community. She has served on the Evansville Executive Forum and the Board of Directors of both the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Ohio Valley, and the Tri-State Multiple Sclerosis Association. She has been involved with the Carver Community Center and Ruth’s House as well. But whether she’s giving back, overseeing process improvement at her company or enjoying time with her family, Martha feels a deep regard for others. “I’m a small-town girl who was raised in a very loving and giving environment,” she says. “I’m so very grateful.”

Ahlers on stage at the 2019 ELFA Annual Convention.

Spreading Support

From her compassion for people springs enthusiasm for her second goal as ELFA Board Chair: to increase the diversity of the association’s membership. “Growing our diversity and inclusion is already part of ELFA’s mission, and it’s enormously important to me personally,” she says. “I believe everyone is valuable, and I look forward to finding more ways to bring people of different backgrounds to the table to broaden our perspective and enhance our decision-making.”

Ahlers’ third goal is to better prepare ELFA member companies for an economic downturn. “We’ve now reaped the benefits of 10 years of prosperity, and those who’ve joined our industry during this time may have never experienced a recession,” she observes. “Whether pockets of decline are concentrated regionally in certain manufacturing areas or a broader slow-down materializes, we need to strengthen our ability to prepare and respond with education.”

Ahlers herself recently attended an event at which two economists discussed potential scenarios for a downturn. “No matter how it happens or when, equipment finance companies will feel it in the struggles of their customers,” she says. “If we can find solutions to help them weather the storm, our relationships with them will strengthen and endure for the long term.”

She finds further education in the experiences, skills and styles of other leaders, and says they have helped shape her goals. At the ELFA Convention in October she met Valerie Jester, the first woman to serve as ELFA Board Chair. “Meeting Valerie was so inspiring,” says Ahlers. “I felt an immediate connection and found her to be a dynamic communicator—someone who has embraced what she had done and what I was about to do—and a kind person who inspires not only women, but people of diverse backgrounds.”

Ahlers’ ability to focus well on so many aspects of life is exceeded only by her dedication to them. It might be hard to believe her when she says she loves to cook, that it’s an outlet for her creative side and giving nature; or that she studied classical piano and loves to travel, Spain being her next destination. Not as hard to believe, though, is the satisfaction and joy that she clearly receives from it all. “I’m so honored to take on the role of ELFA Board Chair,” she says. “I look forward to working with the Board, the staff and all members to advance our association’s important work in support of our amazing industry and the people who drive it.”

ELFA President and CEO Ralph Petta shares his excitement about Ahlers’ role at the helm of the Board of Directors. “We are extremely fortunate to have Martha serving as Board Chair for 2020. Her vision and leadership skills, combined with her industry knowledge and dedication to our association, will be tremendous assets to our members and the equipment finance industry at large in the coming year.”

 

Ahlers at the Board of Directors meeting at the 2019 ELFA Annual Convention.