Full 2018 Speaker List Coming Soon
Our Speakers.
Listen. Learn. Grow.
Kris Roglieri
President, Commercial Capital Training Group, President of Prime Commercial Lending, President of The Finance Marketing Group and Co-Founder of Durham Commercial Capital
Commercial Capital Training Group’s Founder and New York financier, Kris Roglieri has more than 20 years of commercial finance and real estate finance experience. Kris owns and operates two highly successful national commercial finance companies, which finance over $300 Million in loans yearly, as well as an investment real estate business. He is the founder and CEO of Prime Commercial Lending, a 20 year old diversified commercial finance lender and advisory firm. Kris is also co-founder of Durham Commercial Capital, a specialized national accounts receivable finance lender. He also founded the nation’s only Finance Marketing Firm providing a full spectrum of marketing services to Banks, Lenders, Brokers and Financial Services companies across the world.
Kris has been often tapped into for his commercial lending expertise as well as quoted in publications and news outlets such as Forbes Magazine, Entrepreneur Magazine, Fox Business News, The Washington Post, Bloomberg just to name a few. Two of his companies have named by Forbes Magazine as the fasted growing privately held companies in the country.
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Michael Rozman
CEO and Co-founder of BoeFly
Mike Rozman is CEO and co-founder of BoeFly.com, the online marketplace connecting business borrowers with 5,000+ lenders. Mike is passionate about helping small business owners most efficiently secure competitive financing to start a business or grow their existing business.
Previously, Mike was the president and co-founder of Edgeware Analytics, the company that served as the founding platform of BoeFly. Prior to co-founding Edgeware in 2003, Mike was a Vice President at JPMorgan Chase in their Global Bank.
Mike serves on the International Franchise Association’s Supplier Board and earned a dual-MBA from Columbia Business School and the London Business School and a bachelor’s degree from Boston College. In 2013 Mike became a Certified Franchise Executive.
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Joseph G. Bonanno, Esq.
Keynote Speaker
Joe is the son of immigrant parents who came to America through Ellis Island in the 1920’s for a better life. He has always lived in Boston suburbs which makes him a Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics and Bruins fanatic! He is a lawyer, marketeer, motivator, musician and people person. He enjoys gardening and traditional Sicilian home-cooked meals. Most importantly, Joe is a survivor of a very rare type of cancer.
In his legal profession, Joe enjoys being a “total counselor” and “problem solver” to people from many different walks of life and to small and large businesses from many industries. He has counseled his clients in life problems, business strategies and business development. As Joe says, “without small business and risk-taking entrepreneurs, our Country would not be what it is today.” One industry that Joe has been involved in for over thirty years is commercial finance loan brokerage.
Joe has a Juris Doctor degree, a Master in Business Administration degree, a Bachelor in Economics Degree and a two-year Accounting Degree. Joe has been a finance industry special consultant to The World Bank for industry development in Kosovo and Russia (which he says were very enlightening trips), an industry educational and testifying expert witness in equipment finance litigation, has testified before a joint session of the Massachusetts legislature in favor of adoption of Uniform Commercial Code revised Article 2A in equipment leasing and revised Uniform Commercial Code Article 9 in secured transactions. He is a Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education co-instructor to other attorneys, a past six-term Certified Lease and Finance Professional Foundation board member, a CLFP examination review instructor and instructor for past independent leasing institutes. He has also been a guest lecturer at Boston’s Suffolk University and The Massachusetts School of Law. He maintains a private law practice in the Boston area.
Joe will share with us his life lessons about people, business development and the impact of the changing world of commerce upon customer relationships. Also Joe, will share with us how being one of the six out of one million people diagnosed with ocular melanoma eye cancer which has caused the total loss of vision in one eye, has opened his other eye to the true priorities, values and meaning of life. Joe says that he will continue to survive. There is no other option.
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Alex Vasilakos
Director of Marketing for The Finance Marketing Group
He entered advertising and marketing in 2003, right when the industry landscape shifted from traditional print to digital media. In that time, Alex has worked with numerous large accounts in both healthcare and financial services, and has helped small and medium-sized businesses grow and flourish in their respective digital markets. Alex has
won countless awards for creative direction and strategy, and is certified by
Google Partners in both AdWords and Analytics.
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Benjamin Smith
Vice President of Small Business Lending for Celtic Bank
Benjamin Smith is Vice President of Small Business Lending for Celtic Bank which is currently the 7th largest SBA lender in the nation.
Benjamin has been in the SBA arena since 2003 where he started as a Loan Officer/Vice President with one of the top SBA lenders in the nation with a focus on lending within the SBA 504 loan program. While there, he underwrote and sourced loans for 7 years and funded over $250MM in SBA Loans. Prior to Celtic Bank he was the Vice President of Acquisitions for a private equity firm where he was responsible for the acquisition of over $800MM in distressed debt across the country. Asset classes included multi-family, retail, office, industrial, self-storage, hospitality and broken condos. He was integral in finding, analyzing and working the purchases and exits of those projects.
Since joining Celtic Bank in 2014, he has been a top producer year after year in business development and loan production. Ben received a B.S. in Finance from the University of Utah and lives in Salt Lake City, Utah where works at the head offices of Celtic Bank.
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Bennett Abel
Founder and President of Abel Commercial Funding
Bennett is the founder and president of Abel Commercial Funding. Bennett and his team specialize in fix/flips loans,rental loans and lines of credit.
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Brad Heritage
Senior Vice President at North East Bank
Brad is responsible for leading and growing Northeast Bank’s SBA & USDA Lending Division. For background, Northeast Bank originates and acquires commercial real estate loans nationwide. Through its unique and agile structure, the bank leverages an experienced team and robust balance sheet to offer speed, certainty of execution, and flexibility that other lenders simply cannot. Furthermore, the Northeast Bank Team delivers a best-in-class customer experience to enable Referral Sources – and their small business clientele – to secure the capital that they need to thrive.
Prior to joining Northeast Bank in 2017, Brad spent four years with Funding Circle USA in San Francisco. There, as a member of the US Management Team, he helped grow the business from less than 15 employees at his arrival to over 250 upon his departure. At Funding Circle, Brad served as the Director of Borrower Sales and Sales Productivity, in addition to numerous roles over the course of his tenure. He has a proven track record of lending to small businesses nationally, and substantial experience leading sales teams that effectively leverage technology to improve both borrower acquisition strategies and enhance the borrower experience.
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Chad Fondriest
Senior Vice President/SBA Lender at United Midwest Savings Bank
Chad Fondriest’s depth of experience comes from eighteen years of nationwide SBA lending, specializing in industries including, but not limited to, funeral homes, insurance agencies, medical and dental practices, and hotels. As a Senior Vice President/SBA Lender at United Midwest Savings Bank, Chad has been instrumental in building the bank’s SBA portfolio to its current ranking in the top 20 of all SBA lenders in the country.
Chad’s lending experience extends from the conference room to the classroom. In addition to being a panelist and speaker at a variety of events, he also organizes and hosts quarterly educational seminars for business owners and brokers on the advantages and nuances of SBA loans.
Prior to joining United Midwest, Chad was a Product Specialist at Huntington National Bank for nine years. Chad began his lending career as a college intern at Champaign Bank where upon graduation he started and built the bank’s SBA lending program into the top ten lenders in Ohio.
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Charles Brazier
Executive Vice President of TradeRiver USA Inc.
Chuck overseas Client and Partner Development for TradeRiver USA and is a member of the Executive Team.
Mr. Brazier is a successful financial professional with over 30 years experience in the equipment lease and trade finance industries. His broad experience ranges from creating strategic funding alliances, establishing organizational processes and leading organizational restructuring efforts. Chuck’s past leadership roles in the industry include operations management, business development and strategic planning. As a senior officer in both private and public sector corporations, Mr. Brazier has led strategic planning, managed diverse businesses, led implementation of vital credit risk policies and overseen funding/syndication policies and booking procedures. Chuck has served as SVP, EVP and President in a variety of equipment finance companies. In 1993, as a partner with Oakmont Financial Corporation, Chuck assisted in the successful merger of Oakmont and Heritage Credit Service Inc. As Oakmont EVP/COO, Chuck was responsible for the establishment of a successful wholesale division, which was merged into First Sierra Financial Services, a publicly traded corporation, in 1997. Mr. Brazier continued with First Sierra as Senior VP of the wholesales division, where he oversaw organizational restructuring, resulting in consistent multi-million dollar annual growth, year-over-year.
Chuck is a strong advocate for on-going professional engagement within the industry and a strong supporter of professional networking and mentoring. Mr. Brazier was affiliated with the United Association of Equipment Leasing (UNEL) where he served in many diverse capacities ranging from committee chairs to President in 2001.
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Chris Hurn
CEO & Founder of Fountainhead Commercial Capital
Chris Hurn is CEO/Founder of Fountainhead Commercial Capital, a nationwide nonbank direct commercial lender specializing in owner-occupied commercial real estate financing with the SBA 504 loan program and low LTV (<65%) conventional loans. He and his executive team have collectively closed over $26.1 billion making them one of the most experienced teams in SBA and low LTV commercial lending.
As a nonbank lender, Chris complements rather than competes with banks and brokers in creating value with his SBA 504 and low LTV conventional loans. Fountainhead’s FastTrack504 secondary market/wholesale program allows lenders and others to fully outsource transactions while earning non-interest income/premiums. Chris provides financing programs to entrepreneurs that give them an advantage over their corporate competition, exponentially increasing the velocity of growth with lower rates, longer terms, and approvals that are guaranteed in two hours or less with Pronto (Fountainhead’s proprietary AI software).
Chris was formerly with GE Capital, Heller Financial, Marsh & McLennan Companies, and the NAI Realvest group of companies before founding his former company Mercantile Capital Corporation, a three-time Inc. 500|5000 company under his leadership. He is also a three-time SBA Financial Services Champion, has been named “Banker of the Year” by NADCO, and is the best-selling author of “The Entrepreneur’s Secret to Creating Wealth.”
Chris has been recognized twice in 2018 for his contributions in commercial real estate and the small business community. He was named by American City Business Journals as one of the nation’s most influential leaders in commercial real estate. Fit Small Business included him on the 2018 list of Top Small Business Influencers.
Chris is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Fels Center of Government (part of the Wharton School of Business at that time) and received two undergraduate degrees, magna cum laude, from Loyola University Chicago.
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Christy Lester
VP, Small Business Loan Officer
Ms. Lester has more than 23 years of experience in SBA lending and wealth of knowledge in commercial financing, specifically within the SBA and USDA B&I arena. She has consistently been a top producer throughout her SBA career and has been recognized as an influential member of the SBA lending community.
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Craig McGrain
President of Durham Funding
Craig McGrain applies his considerable expertise as an attorney in the financial industry to enhance his current role as President of Durham Funding, a financial institution that provides funding and other financial partnership services to small companies. Dedicated to offering highly personal service to the clients at Durham Funding, Craig McGrain oversees all sales, marketing, accounting, and legal operations for the company.
Craig McGrain’s responsibilities in this role included managing complex loan workouts as well as negotiating and structuring formula-based lines of credit, term loans, and other financial transactions, such as construction and acquisition loans. In addition, Craig McGrain represented lenders in bank fraud and liability matters.
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Daniel Rodrigue
EVP, Head of Sales with Bibby Financial Services
With nearly 20 years’ experience, Daniel’s strengths include personnel recruitment and development as well as improving efficiency and profitability.
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Darren Schulman
President of 6th Avenue Capital, Member of the Investment Committee
Darren joined 6th Avenue Capital mid-2017 is responsible for oversight of all aspects of the firm’s operations including origination, underwriting, collections and back-office systems.
Darren has over 30 years of experience in financial services, including most recently serving as the COO of Capify, (formerly AmeriMerchant, a working capital provider for small businesses). At Capify Darren opened their Australian office and developed a business loan product in 3 countries (among other achievements).
Darren has also served as the CFO, COO and Board Member at MTB Bank and CBC Bank, where he was instrumental in starting and growing Trade Finance, Asset-Based Lending and Factoring Divisions. Darren was the President and Chief Financial Officer of MRS BPO (formerly MRS Associates) with international operations and over 700 employees.
Darren graduated from CUNY-New York City- Brooklyn College with a B.S. in Accounting and is a Certified Public Accountant and a Member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He serves as President of his temple in Westfield New Jersey.
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Diane Rosenkrantz
Senior Consultant with Tenet Financial Group
Diane has been working in the pension industry/consulting/customer service areas for over 25 years. Currently assisting clients, lenders, brokers, and franchisors across the country find the best funding options for their business(es). One of the ways Diane has helped a majority of her clients, a specialty of Tenet Financial Group, is working with clients that have retirement funds. Diane helps educate her clients on the process of accessing those funds for a business.
Her experience at MassMutual Life Insurance in the Pension area provided an excellent foundation for her knowledge of 401K and Profit Sharing Plans. Diane worked in the Sensitive Plan Unit at MassMutual, handling administration, training, compliance, and customer service.
Other positions Diane has held over the years include: Senior Account Executive at CIGNA and Senior Project Manager for Robinson Consulting, a firm specializing in project management and customized software development in the health care industry.
Diane is a Senior Consultant and has been with Tenet Financial Group since 2009. She resides in Massachusetts with her husband and they have two grown children. Year round Diane plays tennis on a couple of USTA tennis teams.
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Don Pelgrim
Chief Executive Officer of Wilshire Finance Partners
Don Pelgrim is an owner, director and the CEO of Wilshire Finance Partners, and the manager of the WFP Income Fund and WFP Opportunity Fund. He is also an att orney and has been a chief-level executi ve offi cer in the banking and fi nancial services industry. Founded in 2008, Wilshire Finance Partners is a portf olio lender specializing in small balance bridge loans from $1,000,000 to $7,000,000 secured by multi family and commercial real estate in the United States. Through its management of the WFP Income Fund and WFP Opportunity Fund, Wilshire’s internal funding platf orm delivers fast, effi cient and fl exible bridge loan soluti ons with a high level of customer service. As an att orney, Mr. Pelgrim practi ced corporate, real estate and real estate fi nance law at Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison, LLP and Rutan & Tucker, LLP. During his banking career, Mr. Pelgrim served as an Executi ve Vice President and Chief Administrati ve Offi cer at regional community banks. He received his Juris Doctorate from Loyola Law School of Los Angeles and his Bachelors of Business Administrati on from Hofstra University. He is an acti ve member of the California Bar and has maintained his California Real Estate License since 1986. He has received regulatory “non-disapproval” to serve as a chief-level banking executi ve from the Offi ce of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve (FRB), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporati on (FDIC) and the Offi ce of Thrift Supervision (OTS).
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Evan Singer
CEO of SmartBiz Loans
Evan is CEO of SmartBiz Loans and leads the strategic, operational and tactical activities of the company. He has broad experience in financial technology, medical technology and consumer industries. Evan also speaks at various lending industry conferences like Lendit and Finovate about small business lending. Prior to SmartBiz Loans, Evan held leadership positions as Vice President at Better Finance, President at Purity Organic, and General Manager at Align Technology. He started his career at Procter & Gamble and holds a B.A. in Public Policy, graduating with honors from Stanford University.
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Gary Bechtel
President of Money360
Gary Bechtel, President Gary is the President of Money360, and is responsible for developing and executing Money360’s expansion strategy. Gary also serves on Money360’s Credit Committee and Board of Directors.
Prior to joining Money360, he was Chief Lending/Originations Officer of CU Business Partners, LLC, the nation’s largest credit union service organization. Previously, Gary held management and production positions at Grubb & Ellis Company, Meridian Capital, Johnson Capital, FINOVA Realty Capital, Pacific Southwest Realty Services and Hometown Commercial Capital. Gary began his career with the Alison Company. Over the past thirty-two years, Gary has served in numerous roles (as a lender or an intermediary) and has been involved in all aspects of the commercial real estate finance industry including the origination, underwriting, structuring, placement and closing of over $9 billion in commercial debt transactions, ranging in amounts from $1 million to $150 million. These transactions were placed/funded with a variety of capital sources including life companies, commercial banks, and equity and mezzanine funds, on property types that included office, retail, industrial, multifamily, hospitality, self-storage and manufactured housing. He is a member of the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, California Mortgage Bankers Association, National Association of Industrial and Office Properties, and International Council of Shopping Centers. Gary has spoken at numerous industry events, written articles and has been quoted in a number of regional and national publications.
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Jeffrey Tesch
Managing Director – RCN
Jeffrey Tesch, Managing Director, is responsible for the day-to-day operations of RCN Capital LLC, including sales growth initiatives, underwriting review with compliance oversight and leadership of senior level strategic planning. Joining the Company in 2010, Tesch led efforts to develop a national brand in private lending with the best practices and transparent products for a diverse customer base. Since RCN’s inception, Jeff has personally underwritten over 3,500 loans and overseen $735M+ in originations. Jeff’s previous real estate experience was as an investor in both commercial and residential properties, ranging from single family homes to commercial retail centers. Jeff currently serves as a member of the American Association of Private Lenders’ (AAPL) Ethics Advisory Committee.
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Joe Clapman
President and CEO of Venture Credit Solutions LLC
Joe is President and CEO of Venture Credit Solutions, driving the company through a unique, proven approach to sales and strategy. Joe’s unrelenting passion and creativity have continuously solidified him as an industry leader with almost fifteen years of experience, and have propelled him to excel in small business financing across various market climates and conditions, including medical, real estate and consumer industries. Joe’s varied experiences and various successes as an entrepreneur—prior to making his mark in finance and establishing Venture Credit Solutions—remain the consistent foundation on which he continues to advance his vision and his field. In his latest endeavor, Joe’s primary goal is to enable each client to reach their financial goals and become educated on establishing and maintaining healthy credit, for both their personal and professional wellbeing.
In his personal time, Joe is a speaker and sponsor of numerous annual charity events, forever remaining loyal to his core belief that, “giving back is not an option, it’s a duty.”
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Joe Schaefer
Marketing Director at The Digital Marketing Training Group
Joe Schaefer is Marketing Director at The Digital Marketing Training Group, with responsibility for marketing campaigns, brand management, strategic planning, curriculum, and hands-on training of future digital marketing entrepreneurs. Directly prior to the role as Marketing Director, he worked in strategic marketing and business development for DTMG’s sister companies, including The Finance Marketing Group and Commercial Capital Training Group. Having a 16+ year career in digital marketing and marketing technologies, Joe has served in various staff positions at local and national digital marketing agencies. Notable are his many successes as a lead SEO (search engine optimization specialist and manager) and his foray into the many related marketing tactics, strategies, and platforms in the entire digital marketing ecosystem.
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John H. Hollender, Jr. MBA
Director of Business Development for TradeRiver USA Inc.
John oversees Marketing for TradeRiver USA, including strategy, tactic development and execution. He also supports Partner recruitment and development activities and new Client acquisition.
Mr. Hollender has had a successful 35 year career in Sales and Marketing leadership roles, with fortune 500 companies, such as Honeywell and Amoco Oil Company (BP) as well as small to mid-sized entrepreneurial businesses, primarily in the downstream wholesale and retail end of the petroleum and convenience business, including extensive experience in Commercial Real Estate acquisition, development and project financing. In 2009 John formed his own consulting business, advising clients in the areas wholesale and retail petroleum, retail, real estate, business acquisition and divestment, corporate restructuring and finance. John joined TradeRiver USA in 2016.
Mr. Hollender received his Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Loyola University of Chicago, Quinlin Business School in 1988 with a Major in Marketing and Minor in Finance. He received an undergraduate BA from Valparaiso University in 1980 with a double Major in Psychology and Sociology.
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John Padgett
President & CEO of Flexmark
John has been involved in the Financial and Investment industry for more than 25 yrs. He uses the experience gained as a CPA and managing partner of a successful venture capital firm as well as his own investing experiences to bring a wealth of knowledge to his clients and to guide them to the best financial solutions for their current situation.
Superior customer service, going the extra mile and treating clients by the Golden Rule are the hallmarks of his firm’s success and are installed as part of the culture of Flexmark and its staff.
Flexmark has closed millions of dollars in Commercial and Investor Real Estate loans and has become one of the nation’s leading providers of unsecured business financing for start-ups.
Flexmark is now offering training and lead generation services to other independent brokers to help more brokers reach their financial goals.
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Len Losquadro
Director of Business Development for The Credit Junction.
Len Losquadro is the Director of Business Development for The Credit Junction. He is based in New York City and represents the company on a national basis. He is responsible for managing and cultivating our affiliate relationships. Len grew up in Suffolk County, NY and has spent his whole life in and around small and middle market businesses. The seeds of his entrepreneurial roots were planted early on, as both of his parents ran successful businesses of their own. He continued to foster his interest in finance and small business by attending Syracuse University and graduating with B.S.B.A in Finance, Entrepreneurship & Emerging Enterprises. Len started his career at FGI Finance, a well-known financing company that offered asset-based loans, receivables financing, invoice discounting, and factoring on a global scale. There, he was responsible for structuring cross-border financing solutions for multinational companies. After FGI, Len joined North Mill Capital, a growing finance company, where he was a VP of Business Development responsible for originating and executing ABL and factoring transactions.
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Mandy Kuxhausen
VP, Business Development Officer with T Bank, N.A.
VP, Business Development Officer with T Bank, N.A., a nationally chartered bank headquartered in Dallas, TX with SBA loan offices across the country.
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Marc Glazer
Executive Chairman BFS Capital
Mr. Glazer has led the growth of BFS Capital since 2002. As Executive Chairman, Mr. Glazer is responsible for the company’s vision and strategic direction both domestically and internationally.
Bringing more than 26 years of leadership experience in both distribution and financial services to his executive role at BFS Capital, Mr. Glazer is a recognized thought leader in the specialty finance arena and a guest speaker on executive panels at the Wharton School of Business and other SME-related roundtables. Mr. Glazer graduated magna cum laude in accounting from Binghamton University.
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Mark Falzone
Senior Loan Officer With Kennedy Funding Financial, LLC
Mark Falzone has been with Kennedy Funding Financial, LLC since 2003, continually proving himself to be a particularly staunch, resourceful, and successful representative of the KFI family. Before joining KFI, Mark worked on Wall Street as a financial advisor, where he became adept at investing his clients’ funds according to their individual financial needs and personal investment profile. Mark has been an integral part of numerous successful transactions, and will continue to be involved in many more on virtually a daily basis.
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Martin Chera
Owner & Founder of Express Capital Financing.
Martin Chera is the Owner and Founder of Express Capital Financing. Martin specializes in both commercial real estate and business finance solutions. Express Capital Financing provides tailored solutions which include in-house expertise, advisory, underwriting, and placement teams. Working directly with both investors and developers, Martin is able to offer fix and flip loans, small balance commercial mortgages, bridge loans, and a host of other solutions which can be tailored and scaled to fit the needs of his clients. By implementing today’s technology, Express Capital Financing provides an easy, transparent, and streamlined process for borrowers.
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Michael Johnson
Vice President of business development of Government Finance at Celtic Bank.
Michael Johnson is currently Vice President of business development of Government Finance at Celtic Bank. He has over 30 years of experience in Finance with prior employment at Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan Chase. He also was the owner of JFG Capital, a boutique loan brokerage firm that focused on real estate financing in Chicago, IL. Michael obtained his MBA from Northwestern University and received his undergraduate degree from Western Michigan University.
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Michael Martinez
Business Development – UTICA LEASECO, LLC
Mike Martinez has been a machinery and equipment appraiser, liquidator and lender for over 30 years. Today and for the past eight years Mike has utilized his and Utica Leaseco’s knowledge of machinery to provide financing to non-bankable manufacturing, processing, construction and transportation companies. Utica Leaseco provides working capital by leveraging equipment assets of all classes through sale leaseback transactions as well as capital leases.
Mike is active in the Commercial Finance Association, the International Factoring Association, the Turnaround Management Association and is a past member of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association.
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Ray Drew
Vice President, Business Development Officer for Small Business Loans
Ray Drew is currently a Vice President, Business Development Officer for Small Business Loans at Ready Capital, a non-bank lender specializing in providing SBA 7(a) loans to small businesses nationwide. Before joining Ready Capital, Ray was a Vice President and SBA Loan Specialist for HomeBanc NA in West Palm Beach, Florida. He was also a client advisor for Mercantile Capital Corporation, where he provided SBA 504 loans for commercial real estate acquisitions, construction projects, and refinancing to small businesses nationwide. Ray received his bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Central Florida. He proudly serves on the Board of Florida Association of Government Guaranteed Lenders, an organization dedicated to providing education, networking, and promotes awareness of Government Guaranteed Lending Programs for the small business community.
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Robert Greenberg
Chief Marketing Officer at Patch of Land
Robert is the Chief Marketing Officer at Patch of Land overseeing the company’s sales and market effort. He has more than three decades of consumer and B2B experience working with leading companies in retail, technology, finance, and real estate. Prior to Patch of Land, he led the marketing efforts for Blackstone subsidary, B2R Finance, where he helped originate over $1 billion in real estate transactions, leading to the industry’s first-ever multi-borrower, single-family rental securitization.
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Sanat Patel
Co-Founder and Chief Sales Officer – AVANA Capital
Sanat Patel is co-founder and Chief Sales Officer for AVANA Capital, a commercial real estate debt fund. He has been in the commercial banking industry for over two decades and currently leads the sales team at AVANA Capital. Sanat enjoys meeting business owners and bringing them solutions to grow their business. With over 26 years of experience, Sanat’s strength is in being adaptive and driven in all aspects of his work. His sense of reward is in contributing to the success of his team and his clients. He has been instrumental in driving AVANA’s loan volume to over $1bn, including more than $200MM in ground-up hospitality financing over the past two years.
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Scott DiBerardinis
Business Director of Sales for Durham Commercial Capital
Scott is the Business Director of Sales for Durham Commercial Capital. He is a former commercial banking officer for Chase Bank and HSBC Bank in New York. His focus revolved around international finance, foreign currency exchange and trade and supply chain management. Scott has sat on the board of the International business Council for three years, his primary role was to host delegates from Rochester ,New York’s sister cities to promote international commerce. He received his bachelor of Business Administration from the State University of New York at Morrisville. Scott’s professional expertise includes loan structuring, SBA export financing, letters of credit, cash management; municipal financing related to bond, revenue and tax anticipation notes. 585-218-8610 ext 237
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Shervin Rashti, CLFP
CEO of SLIM Capital
Shervin started in the equipment finance space when asked to Manage a portfolio for an investor in one of his tech startups in 2003. Soon thereafter, he started a Commercial Finance Division for a sizable finance broker. In 2008, Shervin co-founded Maxim Commercial Capital, where he served as COO through 2017. After deciding to sell his interest in the company, he launched SLIM Capital, LLC. He brings with him over $300MM of balance sheet financing as well as a deep understanding of deal structuring and creative strategies. Shervin earned his Certified Lease and Finance Professional Certificate in 2009.
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Terry Luker
Founder & Senior Partner of Alternative Capital Solutions, the President & CEO of BancAccess and the President of Franklin Commercial Capital, LLC (In formation).
Terry Luker is the founder and Senior Partner of Alternative Capital Solutions, the President and CEO of BancAccess and the President of Franklin Commercial Capital, LLC (In formation). Terry is an expert in deal structure and creative financing options that are not obvious to most. His “can do” attitude and persistence is apparent to all with whom he associates.
With over 25 years in the finance community, Terry is familiar with the financing and/or refinancing of almost every aspect of different industries. Experience with real estate acquisition, facilities construction, inventory floor plans, and directing finance departments has prepared Terry for the diverse needs of commercial funding challenges we face every day.
Terry’s philosophy is, “If a business owner is looking to grow or expand their business, we need to find a solution to make it happen.” These words are a mission statement for his sales team, as well as his credit team. He holds them accountable to that philosophy every day.
Terry was awarded the 2014 “Rookie of the Year” award by the National Alliance of Commercial Loan Brokers in its first year, and followed that up by being recognized as the 2016 “Commercial Loan Broker of the Year”.
Terry resides in Franklin, TN. For more information check out the company website at altcapsolutions.com or at TerryLuker.com.
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Thomas G. Zernick
President of SBA Lending Division at First Home Bank
Mr. Thomas G. Zernick is currently the President of SBA Lending Division at First Home Bank, St. Petersburg, Florida. Tom began his banking career over thirty years ago in Michigan. He has extensive experience in commercial & business lending and senior bank management. He has managed production of over $1 billion in U.S. Small Business Administration Loans during his career.
Tom is a frequent speaker at broker conferences across the country and provides ongoing SBA Training to a variety of groups in the Broker Community. He is a past recipient of the SBA’s Outstanding Financial Advocate Award. He is a proud graduate of the University of Notre Dame and resides in St. Pete Beach, Florida.
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Timothy J. McGoff
Chief Business Development Officer
Mr. McGoff joined Celtic Bank in 2015 and serves as Chief Business Development Officer. He is responsible for driving business growth through management of national sales teams, development of marketing programs and implementation of new processes and technologies. Tim has over 15 years of Commercial and SBA Lending experience including tenure with Citibank and U.S. Bank. Prior to his financial industry experience, Tim held several business and product development roles within the B2B, enterprise software and retail industries. Tim holds a BA in Economics from the State University of New York at Albany.
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Tino J. Martins
Director and Portfolio Manager of Lancewood Capital
Tino J. Martins serves as Director and Portfolio Manager of Lancewood Capital. Prior to Lancewood, Mr. Martins held portfolio management roles at Ellington Management group, a mortgage-focused hedge fund since 2005. While at Ellington, he oversaw a small-balance commercial loan acquisition and workout strategy, acquiring over $200 million of distressed assets from banks, special servicers and forced sellers. Following acquisition, he worked with servicers and asset managers to maximize resolution proceeds to investors. Mr. Martins also managed the purchase of seasoned residential loans via securitization collapses. Additionally, he worked on many other residential loan and securities acquisitions from originators, trust buy-outs, receivership sales and others.
Prior to Ellington, Mr. Martins was Senior Risk Manager for Parker Global Strategies, a Stamford, CT-based fund-of-funds. He focused on portfolio optimization and hedging to reduce systematic risk and increase alpha. Mr. Martins has also held financial advisory and qualified retirement plan positions with Nationwide and Waddell & Reed in the past. Mr. Martins studied at the University of Massachusetts and majored in Economics. He earned a Bachelors degree with a concentration in Finance.
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Tom Gazaway
Founder & CEO
Tom Gazaway is the founder & CEO of LenCred. LenCred helps entrepreneurs and small business owners obtain financing to start, build, and grow their businesses. Tom formed LenCred in 2008 and they are nationally recognized for their expertise in the startup phase of financing a business responsibly with debt.
In 2017 he helped his team at LenCred roll out the first fully compliant soft-inquiry, instant decisioning software platform for startup companies. They added pre-approval funding ranges in 2018 and the software continues to be the leading source for top-of-funnel, fully compliant pre-approvals in the startup and unsecured space.
Tom grew up in Iowa and is a graduate of Westmont College in Santa Barbara, CA. Tom and his wife Melanie and their 3 boys recently moved from New Jersey to Bentonville, AR.
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Tyler Deters
President & CEO
Tyler graduated from the Davis Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah. He founded Paradigm in 2011 to assist businesses with financing needs not being met by larger financial institutions. He primarily worked as a broker for about 2 years prior to becoming a direct lender in 2013. He has been in the lending industry for over 15 years as a commercial and residential mortgage lender. Prior to founding the company, he worked in Utah and Arizona as a commercial lender for a large regional bank. He is an experienced lender in commercial real estate, SBA, equipment, accounts receivable, and hard money. Paradigm is a direct lender for “C” and “D” credit deals in the equipment leasing industry.
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Valarie Nussbaum-Harris
SBA lending specialist with Customers Bank
Valarie Nussbaum-Harris is a SBA lending specialist with Customers Bank, a $10 Billion bank with offices in the Northeast and a national SBA lending platform. Customers Bank is an aggressive Preferred SBA lender moving rapidly up the ranks as one of the top SBA lenders in the country.
Valarie started her career in banking in the branch management training program at NCNB. She went through the credit training program before becoming a middle market commercial lender. After 10 years in banking, she opened First Financial Associates in St. Petersburg and was a commercial loan broker assisting clients with business acquisition, partner buy outs and expansion loans using the SBA loan products as well as conventional products.
With nearly 30 years in banking, Valarie is well known for breaking down complex transactions and assisting buyers and sellers achieve their dreams.
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