Former US Ambassador to Canada, Gordon Giffin joins Element Board of
Directors
TORONTO, May 6, 2013 /CNW/ - Element Financial Corporation (TSX:EFN)
("Element" or "the Company"), one of North America's leading
independent equipment finance companies, today announced several
changes to the Company's board of directors aimed at bringing increased
independence and a broader regional perspective to the work of the
board and its committees.
In this regard, Element is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr.
Gordon D. Giffin, former US ambassador to Canada, to the Company's
board of directors. Ambassador Giffin will sit as an independent
member of the board.
"As Element continues to expand its reach across the Canada/US border to
provide vendor financing solutions to North American equipment
manufacturers and their customer, we will benefit from having the
perspective of a seasoned diplomat of Ambassador Giffin's experience on
our board of directors," said Steven Hudson, Element's Chairman and
CEO.
"Element Financial is very well positioned to enable businesses on both
sides of the border to acquire the capital equipment they need to make
meaningful and sustained contributions to the expansion of the North
American economy," said Ambassador Giffin. "I'm looking forward to
supporting the Company's continued success and growth."
In addition to Ambassador Giffin's appointment, the Company also
announced that Dr. Steven Small, in addition to his role as Lead
Director, has been appointed as Vice Chairman of the board of
directors. Dr. Small has also been appointed to serve on the Audit
Committee in addition to continuing to serve on the Credit Committee.
As well as these changes, Mr. Paul Stoyan has been appointed as Chair
of the Compensation and Corporate Governance Committee and Mr. Harold
Bridge has been appointed to the Credit Committee in addition to
continuing to serve as Chair of the Audit Committee. Mr. Leslie E.
Martin and Mr. Bruce Smith are not standing for re-election and will
retire from the board of directors at the Company's May 28th Annual Meeting of Shareholders. Mr. Smith will continue to provide
strong leadership and operational direction to Element as the Company's
Chief Operating Officer and Canadian President.
"As one of the founding shareholders of Element, I want to pay a special
tribute to Les Martin for the extraordinary contribution that he has
made to the development of this Company," said Mr. Hudson. "I am
personally very grateful for the no-nonsense advice and insightful
perspective that he always brought to our board meetings as we
transformed Element from a small private company to a TSX-listed
enterprise with a growing North American market presence," added Mr.
Hudson.
Subject to their election at the upcoming Annual Meeting of
Shareholders, Element's board of directors will be comprised of nine
directors, eight of whom meet the criteria required to be designated as
independent directors as defined under the Corporate Governance
Guidelines published by the Canadian Securities Administrators.
About Gordon Giffin
Ambassador Giffin is the Chair of the Public Policy and International
department of the international law firm of McKenna Long & Aldridge.
His practice is focused on international transactions and trade
matters, government procurement, energy regulatory and policy matters,
and federal and state regulatory matters and public policy. He served
as the nineteenth U.S. Ambassador to Canada from August 1997 to April
2001. Born in 1949 in Springfield, Massachusetts, Gordon Giffin moved
to Canada in 1950 and lived in Montreal and Toronto for 17 years,
attending Valois Park Elementary School in Pointe Claire and Richview
Collegiate in Etobicoke. He earned a B.A. from Duke University in 1971
and a J.D. from Emory University School of Law in Atlanta, Georgia in
1974.
About Element Financial Corporation
With total assets of approximately $1.5 billion, Element Financial
Corporation is one of North America's leading independent equipment
finance companies. Element operates across North America in three
verticals of the equipment finance market - Element Capital provides
large ticket equipment leasing, Element Finance serves the mid-ticket
equipment finance market and Element Fleet provides vehicle fleet
leasing and management solutions through the Company's TLS Fleet
Management division.
Forward Looking Statements
This release includes forward-looking statements regarding the use of
proceeds from the issuance. Such statements are based on the current
expectations and views of future events of Element's management. In
some cases the forward-looking statements can be identified by words or
phrases such as "may", "will", "expect", "plan", "anticipate",
"intend", "potential", "estimate", "believe" or the negative of these
terms, or other similar expressions intended to identify
forward-looking statements. The forward-looking events and
circumstances discussed in this release, including the use of proceeds
from the issuance, may not occur and could differ materially as a
result of known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting
Element, including risks regarding the equipment finance industry,
economic factors and many other factors beyond the control of Element.
No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Forward-looking
statements and information by their nature are based on assumptions and
involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which
may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or industry
results, to be materially different from any future results,
performance or achievements expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statement or information. Accordingly, readers should
not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements or
information. Except as required by applicable securities laws,
forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are
made and Element undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise
any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information,
future events, or otherwise.
SOURCE: Element Financial Corporation
