ELFA announced its new Board of Directors and Officers who will serve during the next 12 months during the ELFA Annual Convention. The ELFA Nominating Committee selected and presented the slate of candidates, which was approved by a vote of the general membership. The new officers and directors began their terms of service at the conclusion of the convention on October 29.

Board Officers

Deborah Baker, VP, Global Payment Solutions, HP Inc., is the new Board Chair.

“It’s such an honor to take on this position to represent the members, board and staff of ELFA as the next Chair,” said Baker. “I look forward to picking up the baton from our Immediate Past Chair James Cress, and working with CEO Leigh Lytle as we focus more deeply on areas like research, education, and the future of our workforce. I’m particularly excited about the possibilities for getting even more qualified talent engaged in our industry. There are tremendous opportunities to build on the incredible momentum attained over the last year—particularly with advocacy and people—and you can expect another packed agenda as we drive greater achievements for ELFA, the industry and our economy in the coming year.”

Baker is an active member of ELFA, and has previously held a number of key leadership roles. She has served on the Board of Directors, the Executive Committee, the Nominating Committee and as the Board liaison to the Women’s Council. She served as Chair of the ELFA Women’s Council, and as a founding member of ELFA’s Equality (now Equity) Committee. She is also a member of the Mentor Match Initiative Community launched earlier this year to strengthen member-to-member connections and professional growth.

Baker has been a long-time generous donor of the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation and was a reviewer for the Foundation’s student scholarship evaluations in 2022-2023.

Baker holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and an MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison, NJ.

James Cress, Vice President & General Manager, Flex Financial, Stryker, is Immediate Past Chair.

Other members of the Board are:

	Nathan Gibbons, CLFP, Chief Experience Officer, QuickFi, is Chair-Elect.
	Kirk Phillips, President & CEO, Wintrust Asset Finance, Inc., is First Vice Chair.
	Neal Garnett, Chief Commercial Officer and Executive Board Member, DLL, is Second Vice Chair.
	Jeffry Elliott, CLFP, Founder & CEO of Elevex Capital will serve as Treasurer.
	Daryl Muller, ELFA’s Chief Operating Officer and Corporate Secretary, will serve as Secretary.

Newly Elected Directors

Eric Bunnell, CLFP

As President of Arvest Equipment Finance, Eric is responsible for the growth and profitability of the Equipment Finance division. He provides leadership, day-to-day direction and administration for the commercial equipment finance function. Under Eric’s leadership, the company has grown from $150 million in assets and 14 associates to just under $800 million and 43 associates.

Eric is completing his fourth year on ELFA’s Bank Council Steering Committee, having served as chair in 2025. He holds the Certified Lease & Finance Professional (CLFP) designation and is a former board member of the CLFP Foundation.

Eric earned a Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture economics from the University of Missouri.

John Grosso

John is the Senior Vice President (United States and Canada) and Chief Marketing Officer at John Deere Financial, where

he is responsible for financial performance. In addition, he has functional responsibility for the company’s sales and customer management teams in North America, and for marketing globally.

A lawyer by training, John joined John Deere Financial from a corporate commercial law practice at a major Canadian law firm. He holds a LL.B. law degree and a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry degree from Western University (London, Ontario, Canada). He is a member of the Law Society of Ontario, the Canadian Bar Association and the Canadian Finance and Leasing Association.

Dominic Janney

Dominic Janney is President of Canon Financial Services, Inc. A seasoned financial services executive, Dominic has over 30 years of experience leading start-up and established organizations through growth, acquisition and transformation. Within Canon Financial Services alone, he has held key leadership roles across sales and servicing, client retention and operational performance, and in driving business development.

Kyin Lok

Kyin is a founder, and current CEO, of Dext Capital. Prior experience includes building GE Capital’s Asia Healthcare

Platform, developing U.S. Bank’s middle market vendor business focused on healthcare and technology, and overseeing diversified business lines at TCF Bank.

In corporate development, he has successfully built de novo businesses, and managed multiple acquisitions and integrations totaling over $15 billion in assets. A speaker at several ELFA conferences, Kyin also serves on the editorial board at The Monitor. 

He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Northeastern University and an MBA from Columbia Business School at Columbia University. 

Rick Matte

Rick Matte is President and CEO of Post Road Equipment Finance (formerly Encina Equipment Finance), where he oversees strategic direction, growth initiatives and operations. As one of the initial founding employees, Rick helped launch the platform. He has guided its growth to more than $1 billion in assets, and led the company’s rebranding.

Before co-founding Post Road, Rick spent over a decade at GE Capital, where he held senior leadership roles. He has served as a member of the ELFA Independent Business Council and Membership Committees, and shared his perspectives in ELFA virtual fireside chats and industry panels.

Rick holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from Columbia Business School at Columbia University.

Donna Yanuzzi

Donna is Executive Vice President of Equipment Finance at 1st Equipment Finance (FNCB Bank).

Previously, she served as Managing Director of Sales and Marketing at F.N.B. Equipment Finance. Over her 24 years with the company, she was responsible for sales activity and profitability for the Indirect Vendor Program, Commercial Bank Leasing, Bank Small Business, Direct Financing and Inside Sales divisions. She helped build the equipment finance sales division that approached $1 billion in assets.

Donna has been involved with ELFA’s Bank Business Council Steering Committee, Women’s Council and LeasePAC. The Monitor has recognized her as one of the “Top Women in Equipment Finance.”

She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications and Public Relations from Bloomsburg University.

Returning Directors

Other members of the Board are:

• Hollis Bufferd, CEO, Star Hill Financial LLC
• Theresa Dixon, Managing Director, Syndication Manager, Bank of America Global Leasing
• Katie Emmel, COO, Solifi
• Jon Gerson, President, Executive Solutions for Leasing and Finance, LLC
• Randy Haug, Executive Vice President, Vice Chairman & Co-Founder, LTi Technology Solutions
• Mathew Iacobucci, SVP - Head of Bank Markets, U.S. Bank
• Christopher Johnson
• Robert Moskovitz
• William Perry
• Moorari Shah, Partner, Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLC
• Pasqual Slaughter, Vice President North America, Caterpillar Financial Services Corporation       
• Michelle Speranza, CLFP, SVP, Chief Marketing Officer, LEAF Commercial Capital Inc.
• Stephen White, Executive Vice President, Stonebriar Commercial Finance