In the third Leasing Life Power 50 list we lay a bold claim and display 50 people Leasing Life believes are shaping the future of the leasing market.
Our asset finance influencers are drawn from all parts of the market, with a geographic prejudice towards Western Europe.
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Readers and non-readers alike were asked to vote for between five and ten people who they thought deserved to be in the list of most influential people in the leasing industry.
The results were then run by some key consultants and the decisions made to whittle the long list of worthy candidates down to the chosen 50.
The Marmite of lists, it’s the sort of practice that can cause disagreement, but there’s a greater rationale to it than sheer competition.
If leasing is to progress from a disparate group of competing individuals and companies to a community that can prove its worth to the wider banking world and corporate business, then it needs people to lead and represent it.
Since the inaugural list, there have been developments that have helped this cause.
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By GlobalDataThe rise of the Leasing Foundation has shown that leasing executives can share a communal purpose beyond the balance sheet.
Lectures on interesting new topics, a philanthropic element, the nurturing of young talent, and the encouragement of women in leasing has seen membership of the Foundation as something of an Enlightenment, so membership as a governor or fellow was taken into account.
In alphabetical order:
John Allbrook, chairman, Syscap;
Allbrook has worked in leasing for more than 25 years, with stints at GE, Dana Commercial Credit and Custom Leasing, and most recently as a part of Syscap’s growth strategy. [Syscap was sold to the Wesleyan Group after this list was published. Ed.] A strong industry figure, his attendance at Leasing Life events, and active membership of the Leasing Foundation make his contribution as part of growing the market invaluable.
Jonathan Andrew, chief executive commercial finance, Siemens Financial Services
As chief executive of Siemens Financial Services, Andrew has led one the most successful global leasing firms for seven years and has long been an active voice within the industry. Described by one nominator has having "low-key but exceptional leadership skills", he has significantly grown the SFS business and led its expansion into new markets. This year he hosts the Leasing Foundation conference at the Siemens FS headquarters in London.
George Ashworth, managing director, ABN Amro; Leaseurope
Ashworth has been active in European leasing for more than 20 years, as a managing director of asset finance at UK bank Aldermore where he lent more than 450m in asset finance and was recognised by inclusion in the UK government’s SME credit scheme, and more recently as part of Dutch lessor ABN Amro. Ashworth also sits on the Leaseurope board
Paul Bartley, director, Close Brothers Leasing
Bartley helped to set up Close Brothers’ mid-ticket leasing arm in 2007 and has been active in leasing finance since the early 80s. He has held several senior positions in the industry, including sales director at ING Lease and European business development director with CIT Group. Bartley is also a founding fellow of the Leasing Foundation.
Ilaria del Beato, chief executive officer, GE Capital UK
Before being appointed chief executive officer of GE Capital UK in March 2013, Del Beato held key roles at GE Capital Real Estate for a decade. She joined the GE group from European Acquisitions, where she was the managing director. She also worked for MEPC and CBRE.
Chris Boobyer, senior partner, Invigors
Boobyer is a senior partner at consultancy firm Invigors where he applies more than 30 years’ leasing industry experience. Boobyer has written books on the industry, held various board-level positions and is a former chair of asset finance at the UK’s Finance & Leasing Association. Boobyer is a regular speaker on the asset finance conference circuit, works closely with the Leaseurope board, and maintains a strong profile with expert comment in the trade press.
Didier Chappet, chief executive, BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions
As the head of Europe’s second-largest asset finance business since 2010, Chappet has a great deal of influence on the way the finance industry advances. Chappet has taken BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions to the very top of the industry, winning the European Lessor award at the Leasing Life awards in Warsaw last November.
Melanie Chell, partner at Shoosmiths
Chell is the national head of asset finance within the Shoosmiths recoveries services group. Chell trained with Shoosmiths qualifying in 2000 and returned to the firm in January 2011 from Gateley where she was a partner in the banking and asset finance team.
Cormac Costelloe, vice-president & general manager, Dell Financial Services EMEA
Costelloe was chosen by the US technology company Dell to head its European financial services business in early 2011. He was hired from CIT Vendor Finance after Dell acquired the European assets of Dell Financial Services. Prior to DFS and CIT, Costelloe worked in senior positions throughout the credit businesses of ING Barings, Danske, and the captive finance division of Hewlett Packard.
Chris Cooper, founder and managing director, Challenge Consulting
With major leasing clients including Hitachi, Close Brothers, Lombard, ING Lease and Soc Gen, and 30 years in professional consulting, Cooper is shaping the way major lessors organise their business, while representing the leasing market to the wider banking world. In previous years Cooper has taken part in debates at the Leasing Life conference, with frequent media commentary in the nationals and in Leasing Life.
Carl D’Ammassa, managing director for asset finance at Aldermore Bank
D’Ammassa has been the managing director for asset finance at Aldermore since October 2013. From its base in Reading, D’Ammassa has been heading the leading challenger bank’s charge on established market order, establishing strong grass roots with UK corporates, SMEs and brokers.
Joanne Davies, Partner, DWF
Davies has been a consistent and vocal supporter and shaper of the market, winning Leasing Personality of the Year at the Leasing Life awards in 2013. Since then she has been a regular contributor on leasing legal matters to the trade press and a wise consul to leasing businesses great and small.
Andrew Denton, chief operating officer, CHP Consulting; chief executive, the Leasing Foundation
Denton has an active role in the global leasing industry. Through the Leasing Foundation, the organisation he co-founded in 2012, he is working to address the major challenges facing the industry, including developing talent and increasing awareness of leasing among the world’s businesses. In addition to his work for the industry in general, Denton is the COO of CHP Consulting and has helped lead the company to become a global force in the leasing market.
Marie-Christine Ducholet, chief executive, Société Générale Equipment Finance
As head of Société Générale Equipment Finance, Ducholet oversees Europe’s largest asset finance provider by business volume. She is still relatively new to the equipment finance market, however, having only been chief executive of the division since the end of 2011. Previously Ducholet was head of the French bank’s acquisition finance business globally.
Horst Fittler, chief executive, Bundesverband Deutscher Leasing-Unternehmen
Fittler heads the leasing trade body in what is traditionally Europe’s most active market. With peers looking to Germany for indicators on where the leasing industry is going, he can have great influence on the market. Fittler was previously chief executive of Commerz Real Equipment Leasing and is co-author of a book on the industry.
Simon Goldie, Head of asset finance, Finance & Leasing Association
Goldie was appointed head of asset finance at the FLA last May. He has previously worked at the Chartered Institute of Taxation as head of external relations as well as the Association of Consultancy and Engineering as director of policy and external affairs. Outside the public policy arena, he has worked as head of PR in the UK for computer assisted research provider Lexis Nexis.
Robert Gordon, (former) Group Finance Director, Hitachi Capital
Robert Gordon has been the group finance director at Hitachi Capital since 2006. Prior to joining Hitachi Capital, he held senior management positions at Finova Capital, including finance director. He qualified as a chartered accountant with Deloitte & Touche.
(From 1st April Gordon will become chief executive officer for Hitachi Capital (UK) Group, publicised after this list was originally published – Ed)
Patrick Gouin, global head of strategy & business optimisation, SGEF
With ING Lease’s departure from the UK, Investec, with Francis at the helm, gained a significant share of the broker-introduced market. Francis joined the South African bank in 2002 after a number of years working in the structured finance industry at companies such as ANZ Bank and Barclays. Francis has been running the asset finance business for six years and has overseen several acquisitions.
Rich Green, President, CIT International Finance
Green is responsible for leading CIT’s International Finance business, which includes equipment finance and leasing in the UK and CIT’s business in China, where he has quite literally been an ambassador for the European leasing business model. In that time CIT has established a significant presence among the SME and middle-ticket sectors.
Hans Hoogervorst, chairman, International Accounting Standards Board
As chairman of the IASB since 2011, Hoogervorst has overseen the negotiations on lease accounting convergence which, after heavy criticism from the leasing industry, led to a second Exposure Draft of the proposals which was published in May. How Hoogervorst’s board responds to further criticism from industry stakeholders will have a lasting impact on the leasing business.
Ian Isaac, head of cash, cards & liquidity, Transaction Services, RBS
Ian Isaac rejoined RBS as the head of cash, cards and liquidity last February, after leaving in 2011 to join Lombard as its managing director. Industry sources have tipped Isaac to step into the breach left by Chris Sullivan at the Scottish bank.
Nils Jaeger, President, Volvo Financial Services
Jaeger’s role at John Deere Financial put him in charge of finance in Europe, including the significant Russian market and the Middle East. Jaeger has worked at the US agricultural equipment manufacturer since 1997 and worked his way to the top of the captive arm by 2008. Jaeger became chair of the Captives Forum of May last year, latterly becoming president of Swedish giant Volvo Financial Services.
Sven Jirgal, vice-president and chief operating officer of Cisco Capital; Leasing Foundation member
Jirgal leads the captive finance arm of technology provider Cisco, and as such leads one of the largest providers of IT leasing solutions in the world. In January Cisco recorded a Q2 revenue of $11.9bn (10.52bn), and in May last year Jirgal joined the executive board of the Captives Forum.
Alan Leesmith, international director at IAA-Advisory
Leesmith joined Derek Soper in 2010 in building IAA-Advisory and currently holds the international director position. He has four decades of experience in CFO and CEO roles in the equipment finance industry, having worked for Anglo Leasing, Alta Group EMEA and Bavelaw Associates. He is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales as well as governor of the Leasing Foundation.
Lisa Marks, partner at Stephenson Harwood
Lisa Marks joined Stephen Harwood as an asset finance partner in 2013. She was previously a partner in the finance practice at Berwin Leighton Paisner for eight years. Prior to this, she was a partner in the finance team at Denton Wilde Sapte.
Tarun Mistry, partner and head of leasing and consumer finance, Grant Thornton
In addition to founding the leasing practice at the global accounting and advisory firm, Mistry co-founded the Leasing Foundation with Andrew Denton and Derek Soper. This, and his work in consultancy, led Mistry to be nominated. Prior to joining Grant Thornton in 2007, Mistry held board level finance positions across the industry including at Mercedes-Benz Financial Services.
Jürgen Mossakowski, chief executive, CHG-Meridian
As chief executive of the technology finance specialist, Mossakowski has overseen a period of significant expansion, achieving this through global growth and acquisition. He joined Meridian (now CHG-Meridian) in 1987 and rose rapidly to become a managing director at the merged business by 1992. In 1997 he was appointed chief executive and hasn’t looked back.
Mary McNamara, chair of governors, Leasing Foundation
The former chief executive of UK lease funder Close Brothers Commercial Finance has held a number of senior industry positions over her 20-year career, including chief executive of GE Capital’s fleet business. A warm and friendly persona for the Foundation pairs with solid leasing experience and leadership skills used to front the Women in Leasing initiative that the Foundation hosts. McNamara led from the front for the Leasing Foundation and Leasing Life’s Christmas Charity dinner which raised £23,000 for charity MacMillan cancer care.
Kai Ostermann chairman, Deutsche Leasing
Ostermann has been in the asset finance business since the early 90s and at the most senior levels of the business for almost 10 years, having joined the board of Deutsche Anlagen-Leasing in 2004, before moving up to chairman of parent company Deutsche Leasing in 2010.
Baron Mitchell Parry
Formerly of Standard Chartered Leasing, United Leasing and Syscap founder, and now a member of the UK House of Lords, Mitchell has had a long and eminent career in leasing, and continues to be active in the sector, representing the industry internationally. Attendee and speaker at Invigor’s ‘future shock’ tech briefing last year, Lord Mitchell was ahead of the curve on the advancement of 3D printer technology and the implementation of superfast broadband across the UK.
Robert Peterson, director of marketing and strategy, ABN AMRO Lease
Peterson has been nominated both for his role defining the strategic direction of the Dutch banking group’s leasing arm and for his role as president of the International Finance and Leasing Association. In the latter role, he has been active in pooling global expertise and promoting the leasing industry.
Andrew Page, chief executive, CHP Consulting
Page is a governor of the Leasing Foundation and a co-founder of asset finance technology firm CHP Consulting, holding the chief executive post since 2010. Page may not be as well known as some of his fellow directors, but, as chief executive, sets the strategic direction for what has become one of the largest technology providers to the asset finance industry.
Mike Randall, chief executive officer, Close Brothers Asset Finance
Randall sits at the centre of Close’s asset finance operations, and has been involved with Close for over 20 years. Under Randall, Close has been particularly focused on the SME market in the UK, and was awarded £70m from regional growth funds to plough back into the market in 2014. Last year Close Brother’s loan book grew by 4% to £5.5bn.
John Rees, head of industry & vendor management, SGEF
Rees moved to France in August 2012 to take up a role in the risk division of Société Générale supporting the business line of Société Générale’s equipment finance arm. In October 2014, he became SGEF’s head of industry and vendor management. An active and engaging speaker, with an appearance at Leasing Life’s conference in Warsaw last year, Rees has a lively and proactive leasing profile with 25 years’ experience in the market, having been with SGEF since the buyout of Hambro in 1998.
Carol Roberts, managing director, Bibby Leasing
Bibby was recently voted 50 in the Times’ 100 top places to work in the UK. A nine-year veteran of Bibby Leasing, Roberts’ career goes back much further. Having held senior leadership positions at a variety of firms in her time, including managing director of GE Capital’s European asset finance business, Roberts has built up considerable experience and influence in the sector and is a governor of the Leasing Foundation.
Christian Roelofs director of leasing and consumer finance, Grant Thornton
A Leasing Foundation Young Leader, Roelofs joined Grant Thornton in 2011 from Macquarie Bank where he developed business across a number of sectors in the asset finance industry. He has become known for his knowledge of the international market, especially M&A, and advises lessors and lenders from across the industry.
Allan Ross, managing director, First Independent Finance
Ross is the managing director of asset finance brokerage First Independent Finance. He has previously worked with the Royal Bank of Scotland, Nationwide Building Society, Mercantile Credit, and the Barclays Mercantile organisation, before setting up First Independent Finance in 1999.
Roger Skinner, chief executive, Maxxia
Skinner has more than 30 years’ experience in the financial services industry. Before joining Maxxia, he held executive roles at Lombard and Masterlease, a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers and the Leasing Foundation.
Stephen Sklaroff director general, Finance & Leasing Association
Since becoming director general of the Finance and Leasing Association, Sklaroff has worked tirelessly to ensure the industry’s voice is heard in the upper echelons of power. Since appearing in last year’s survey he has successfully helped guide the asset finance industry through the change in oversight from the FSA to the FCA and the changes this will bring to the industry’s regulation.
Derek Soper, chairman, IAA-Advisory
Soper can count being co-founder of the Leasing Foundation among his many achievements over a 50-year career. Others are establishing the Captives Forum and IAA-Advisory, a consultancy through which Soper brings his wealth of experience to the industry. Since formally retiring in 1997, Soper’s role has been no less influential, including his work as an ambassador of European leasing in China, receiving plaudits and awards for his work in Asia, and as a chair and leader of crucial research into leasing with the Leasing Foundation.
Chris Stamper, non-executive director, Aldermore
Stamper began his career at Lombard North Central in 1978, rising to become managing director of sales finance in 1998. He then held management roles at Abbey National and First National Asset Finance, before joining ING Lease UK. He left ING as chief executive when the Dutch bank closed its UK leasing division having grown profits from 11.9m to 66.8m. He joined the board of Aldermore in May last year, and has worked with its private equity backers to guide the bank to its IPO, expected this year.
Alexander Schmidecker, chief executive, Raiffeisen Leasing
Schmidecker has been chief executive of Raiffeisen Leasing since 2011 when the Austria-headquartered company underwent a restructure. With responsibility for all of Raiffeisen Leasing’s subsidiaries and its international business, Schmidecker has considerable influence over the Central and Eastern European leasing market. He has held several senior roles in the industry and sits on the Leaseurope board.
Jukka Salonen, chief operations officer, Nordea
Salonen is considered a great ambassador for the industry and has reassumed the position of chairman of Leaseurope after the early departure of Massimiliano Moi. As chief executive of Nordea Finance, Salonen has led the company into a ten position by volume in Europe.
Greg Standing, partner, Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co.
Standing has been with leasing solicitors Wragge & Co since 2008 and in that time has been a vocal contributor to the Leasing Life pool of knowledge and insight. Well-respected in the UK leasing community, Standing is leading the field in both asset finance and motor finance legal wrangles and commentary.
Peter Thomas, chief operations officer, The Leasing Foundation
Since being welcomed into the business world from academia to lead the intellectual development of the Leasing Foundation, Thomas has fostered the continuing good relations at the centre of the Foundation, which has included developing young talent, professionalising entry routes into the market, mapping out the Foundation’s lecture series and annual conference and raising the profile of the industry.
Lindsay Town, managing director, Kent Asset Solutions
Town may be new to this list but he’s not new to this industry. He founded consultancy Kent Asset Solutions in 2009 after 34 years in the asset finance industry with companies such as HBOS and Lloyds TSB. In his present role, Town passes on his expertise to the industry as a consultant covering the mid-size asset finance market and is also chairman of Leasing Foundation fellows.
Adam Tyler, chief executive, National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers
As chief executive since 2007, Tyler has been at the helm of the UK’s broker body through a transitional time. He represents the 2.7bn broker market at government level and has been instrumental in launching an online broker directory designed to expand the reach of asset finance.
Tanguy van de Werve, director general, Leaseurope
As director general of Europe’s trade body, Van de Werve is one of Leaseurope’s primary lobbyists for the leasing industry across the world, seeking to champion the industry’s position on any proposed changes which will affect the body’s members. Van de Werve was trained as a finance lawyer and one nominator said he "will ensure that Leaseurope’s voice will continue to be heard".
