I am really pleased to let AFI readers know that John Rees, former co-chief commercial officer at SGEF, has joined IAFN as content leader from March 2021 to assist with the development of IAFN’s European equipment finance member community, a new project for Asset Finance International that was born in the depths of the pandemic.
“I am excited by the opportunity to join IAFN to help them develop their equipment finance community concept," John Rees said. "The idea of the community is that it provides an interactive forum for members to exchange their ideas and debate the topics which are affecting the industry."
“We all know that humans are social beings and seek to have a sense of belonging. The IAFN European equipment finance community will help members to build relationships with people that matter to them; connecting them with other practitioners in structured interactions designed to spark ideas that build business, deliver better products and better outcomes for customers and that help participants in their careers.
“During the pandemic, these communities have been built entirely online. As we emerge from restrictions we look forward to mixing online and offline events to deliver more.”
Edward Peck, chief executive of Asset Finance International, said: "We are delighted to have John join us at such an important time.
"Paradoxically for an events business, at a time when our delegates couldn’t meet in person, we have been busier than ever before.
"In March 2020 we cancelled our physical conferences just before the UK lockdown was announced.
"By June 2020 we were trialling our new online format with proof-of-concept events that captured the real value which delegates get from conferences.
"And what we learned has proved so successful that we expect it will persist way beyond the pandemic.
"John will be a key member of the IAFN team helping us to apply the lessons we learned during lockdown to all our products and services as we emerge into a new and permanently changed post-pandemic world.”
John Rees has worked in equipment finance for over 40 years, most recently with Societe Generale’s equipment finance subsidiary, where he focused on the UK, Australian, and Chinese markets before joining the bank’s headquarters in Paris with global responsibility for sales and marketing.
The IAFN European equipment finance community is the first of a series of five communities which IAFN will be establishing in 2021. For more information about getting involved, contact Edward Peck at edwardpeck@assetfinanceinternational.com.
