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NACM-NATIONAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2015 ELECTION [Business Credit](Business Credit Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) CENTRAL REGION Mike Bengert, CCE, CICP Atlas Van Lines, Inc. NACM South Central (Louisville) Member Mike Bengert, CCE, CICP manages credit and collections for Atlas Van Lines. Formed in 1948 by a group of local transfer and storage firms, Atlas employs nearly 700 people throughout North America and specializes in corporate relocation, household moving services and in the transportation of high-value items such as electronics, fine art, store fixtures and furniture. Based in Evansville, Indiana, it is the second-largest interstate motor carrier in the United States. Mike began his career in public accounting and earned the Certified Public Account (CPA) certification. While he does not currently practice as a CPA, he does keep his license current. Mike transitioned from public accounting into the private sector, working as an Accounting Manager for a manufacturer, as a Controller for a contractor, the Bursar (financial administrator) for the University of Evansville and as the Director of Accounts Receivable before moving into credit. Because Mike has worked in several different industries providing him with a broad background, he not only has a strong financial background, but also a deep understanding of the importance of the credit professional and sound credit management practices and policies. Putting his 25 years of experience to work in his role as Director of Credit & Collections at Atlas, in addition to managing credit, collections and cash application, he has renegotiated contracts and improved workflow processes saving the company about $250,000 per year. Mike is proud to have been mentored by one of credit's "all-time greats," Phyllis Truitt, CCE, who served as NACM Chairman in 2010. "Phyllis taught me the value of NACM and I want to carry the deep passion forward." Mike turns to NACM as his one-stopshop provider of services and currently serves on the Board of Directors for NACM South Central in Louisville. Mike completed NACM's Graduate School of Credit & Financial Management in 2011, during which he earned NACM's Certified Credit Executive (CCE) designation. Mike went on to earn FCIB's Certified International Credit Professional (CICP) designation in 2012 when he successfully completed the 13-week International Credit & Risk Management (ICRM) program. Mike sees "adapting to changes in technology and continuing to provide the credit professional with the tools needed to help their company maximize profits" as the biggest challenges facing NACM today. Mike went on to say that, "we must ensure that upper management understands the value of NACM and the education, services and products NACM offers to help the credit professional. NACM sets the standards for credit professionals and provides the tools and the resources needed to become successful. I will strive to maintain and, when possible, to improve the services offered or provided." Mike earned B.S. degrees in accounting and computer science from Indiana State University. Ed Frermann, CCE, ICCE Carlisle Brake & Friction, Inc. NACM Greater Cleveland Member Ed Frermann, CCE, ICCE began his career in credit management in 1986. His experience includes service as Corporate Credit Manager at The Heritage Group in Indianapolis and as the Corporate Manager at Bindley Western Industries, a Fortune 220 company in Indianapolis. Bindley Western was eventually acquired by Cardinal Health Systems and the credit function was centralized in Dublin, OH. Ed also served as the Corporate Credit Manager at Heartland Imaging until it was acquired by Fuji and the credit function was centralized to White Plains, New York. Ed served as the President of the Indiana Institute of Credit, ViceChairman of the 1992 Central Region Credit Conference, and President of the Central Region Credit Conference in 1997. His committee and Board positions included service on the Indiana Association of Credit Management Education (IACM) Committee from 1991-2000, serving as Chairman of that Committee from 1997-2000, and serving as a member of the IACM Board of Directors from 1995-2003. He proudly accepted the position of President and Chief Operating Officer of the Indiana Association of Credit Management from 2003-2007. He returned to the credit management profession in 2007, accepting his current position as Director, Global Credit Management for Carlisle Brake & Friction, Inc., a manufacturer of brakes and braking systems with locations in the US, China, Wales, India, Italy and Japan. He earned NACM's prestigious Certified Credit Executive (CCE) designation in April 1991 and went on to earn FCIB's Certified International Credit Professional (CICP) and FCIB's highest global credit designation, the International Certified Credit Executive (ICCE) designation in January 2012. Among his many accomplishments are receiving NACM's CCE Designation of Excellence Award in 1999 and IACM's Credit Executive of the Year Award in 2001. Ed led Credit Administration Program (CAP) courses, leading to NACM's CBA designation, for his affiliate from 1993-2007 primarily teaching the Business Credit Principles course. He also shared his passion for credit by leading and facilitating seminars and workshops for the Indiana affiliate on such topics as Credit Management 101, Credit Boot Camp, Dealing with Difficult Customers and Cradle to Grave: The Customer Life Cycle. Ed categorizes NACM's greatest challenge, second only to maintaining and growing membership, as member participation and engagement in NACM-sponsored events, especially in the current economy where companies are limiting travel and continuing education expense. Using the catch phrase, "location, location, location" as a model, Ed thinks that the best way to promote the vision and mission of NACM is "communication, communication, communication," whether that be through email, phone calls or active participation in affiliate and regional events. If elected to the NACM Board of Directors, Ed plans to inspire the Board to ask what the membership wants, and if achievable and realistic, he'd like to help the NACM organization, as a part of its leadership, meet the wants and needs of the membership. Ed will do everything possible with whatever resources are available to him to accomplish this goal. Ed says that, "Without an active and enthusiastic Board of Directors encouraging active participation by the membership, the success of NACM would be like a professional sports team trying to win the championship, while the management and leadership of the team sit on the sidelines and ignore the weaknesses in the team. Neither one will achieve the desired goals." Ty Knox EFCO Corp. NACM Heartland (Des Moines, Iowa) Member Ty Knox leads EFCO Corp.'s risk management team, providing the organization with the identification, assessment and recommendations for managing the risks that endanger the assets and earning capacity of the business. EFCO is a leasing company supplying contractors with forming and shoring equipment for concrete construction. Ty leads a "Matrix Support" department with nine department members located at the Des Moines corporate headquarters and local collectors located in district offices. As the Director of Credit & Risk, Ty manages the contracting, invoicing, credit and collections departments. He recently enhanced Matrix Support for EFCO's International operations by hiring two Regional support staff members-one located in Manila to support EFCO's Europe and Asia regions and the other in Santiago to support EFCO's Latin America regions. At fiscal year end, Ty's departments met all five of EFCO's corporate risk management objectives in North America and 75% of its corporate risk management objectives for international business. He recently created a new process for identifying the root causes of customer account credits and implemented corrective action to mitigate future credits. With more than 15 years of experience in credit and risk management and applying a strong expertise in data-driven modeling, Ty leads his team by example and drives results. Under his direction, EFCO has exceeded its annual objective of less than 2% write-offs and has increased the condition of aged receivables from less than 60% current to over 80% current. He has worked to develop risk management processes and procedures, with his team taking on the responsibility of ensuring process discipline is adhered to worldwide. Prior to joining EFCO in 2003, Ty was the Director of Credit for Ruan Leasing Co., a privately held transportation company providing dedicated fleet and logistics management, where he led a team of credit analysts and collectors. In his four-year tenure, Ty automated the credit screening process and developed a workload process to help the collectors manage their workload more efficiently. He managed a $30 million A/R portfolio and drove DSO down by 15 days. Prior to this, Ty held various positions in credit and collections for First National Bank, Dun & Bradstreet and Battery Patrol. NACM has been a constant throughout Ty's career. He joined the NACM Heartland Affiliate Board of Directors in 2003 and served as its Chairman from 2009 to 2011. He continues to serve the board in various capacities. Ty believes that "the greatest challenges facing our Affiliate Network today is member retention." He went on to say that we must find "ways to demonstrate the value of NACM to existing members. Affiliates must find new ways to bring value to the NACM membership." Ty said, "As someone who's benefited so much from NACM, I am passionate about giving back to the organization. I want to find new ways of demonstrating to other credit professionals how much NACM can help them achieve their professional goals through the association's networking and educational opportunities. There are many untapped opportunities for the organization through the use of technology. The next generation of credit professionals will rely much more on technology and we need to be sure NACM is there to support them." Ty is active in coaching youth sports for his children and is a leader in the Boy Scouts of America. He recently completed the prestigious Wood Badge training course, a world-class leadership development program intended for all Scout leaders who have completed the basic training for their position. Ty Knox holds a master's degree in Business Leadership, with a B.A. in business. JoAnn Malz, CCE, ICCE Pentair Management Company Forius/NACM North Central Member JoAnn Malz, CCE, ICCE is Director, Global Customer Financial Services for Pentair, a global water, fluid, thermal management and equipment protection partner with leading industry products, services and solutions headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, with its United States' office located near Minneapolis, Minnesota. She is responsible for global management, oversight and standardization of Pentair's credit, collection, dispute, cash application policies and processes, associated automated work flows and SharePoint sites, monthly results reporting and communication, and global vendor contract negotiations. JoAnn is also responsible for the successful integration of mergers and acquisitions into Pentair's Customer Financial Services (CFS) policies and processes. In 2010, she led the global implementation of a single instance schema of GetPaid software and incorporated global and regional annual credit conferences to gather Pentair's CFS leaders together from around the world to network, learn and share best practices in addition to regional monthly A/R update calls. Her accomplishments also include designing, developing and facilitating a 13-week global international training program for Pentair's finance, CFS and sales teams. Prior to working for Pentair, JoAnn was credit analyst for Business Credit Leasing, owned by Schwans. She spent 15 years at Cargill, moving from Credit Analyst to Service Center Manager to Business Application Support and to Credit Manager. She then moved to Emerson Process Management to work in its shared services center as Transaction Services Manager and was responsible for process improvement, intercompany collections, deductions and cash application processes. She eventually went to work for Pentair as its Corporate Customer Financial Services Manager and was promoted to the position of Director, Global Customer Financial Services in 2006. In June 2012, JoAnn successfully completed Pentair's Executive Development Program. JoAnn earned NACM's prestigious Certified Credit Executive (CCE) designation in 1998 and completed FCIB's International Credit & Risk Management course to earn the Certified International Credit Professional (CICP) designation in 2005. She now holds FCIB's highest designation, the International Certified Credit Executive Designation (ICCE). She was honored with the 2007 FORIUS Credit Executive of the Year Award in 2007. She has been actively engaged with her NACM affiliate, FORIUS/ NACM North Central, serving on its Board of Directors. She served as the Chairman in 2011-2012. JoAnn continues to participate in committee service, having served on the FORIUS Nominating Committee and Credit Executive of the Year Selection Committee. She is a member of the FORIUS Business Credit Resources group and currently co-chairs the Shared Services group. JoAnn is also a member of FCIB and the Credit Research Foundation. JoAnn believes that NACM's vision and mission could be further promoted by sharing knowledge with others across the globe. She can envision enhanced utilization of online posting and forum discussions, encouraging conversations worldwide. She would like to participate in FCIB's mentor network, to lend assistance to those working their way through CICP coursework. She intends to continue to promote NACM's vision and mission by encouraging developing professionals to pursue professional designations, hire certified candidates when possible and ensuring Pentair representation and participation in major events and forums along with promoting the easy accessibility of webinars offered to grow knowledge. JoAnn said, "I think it is also important to support and encourage existing certified credit professionals to maintain their certifications and continuously improve their skill base because when we stop learning, we stop getting better at what we do and we stop delivering value-added improvements. Participation in research and benchmarking is valuable and has been a present challenge due to volume of ERPs and touch points to gather data, but I believe we can better utilize the A/R data warehouse we are building so we can begin to accurately contribute to research and benchmarking requests to enhance market data applicable to our industries." JoAnn holds a B.S. in finance from St. Cloud State University, Minnesota. WESTERN REGION Marsha ]ohnson, CCE Tec Equipment. Inc. NACM Oregon Member Marsha Johnson, CCE has spent her entire career in the credit and collections field. Upon graduating from college with a degree in economics, she learned interesting and valuable lessons while working as one of Household Finance's first female manager trainees. Looking back on her early career, Marsha credits her mastery of some of the most basic, yet critical, skills of a credit professional to the time she spent in consumer finance, where she developed a deep, practical understanding the real-world cause and effect of the economic forces. For the last decade, she's worked for TEC Equipment, Inc., the west's premier, multi-point, full-service truck dealership group headquartered in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1976, Thompson Equipment Company, now known as TEC, sells parts, new and used trucks, insurance, and offers truck and trailer services, including leasing and rentals. After four years with TEC, Marsha was promoted into the role of Corporate Credit Manager in 2008. During her tenure as TEC's Corporate Credit Manager, the company has more than doubled in size and currently operates more than 20 locations in Washington, Oregon, California and Nevada. Marsha leads the TEC Credit Team which is responsible for all credit and collections activity for parts, service, and truck and trailer rental and leasing. At TEC, Marsha is also responsible for a significant amount of customer service and supports issues arising from cash or COD sales in addition to handling all credit card transactions and disputes. She's helped implement training at TEC store locations located throughout the 1-5 corridor and has also helped integrate five new acquisition locations. Marsha is very proud of being able to manage a growing accounts receivable portfolio while maintaining a high level of customer service, with both internal and external customers and constituents. Marsha is an active member of the CFDD Portland Chapter, having served as the Chapter's Chair from 2005-2006. She was honored by the Portland Chapter with the Distinguished Member Award and was further honored to receive the CFDD National Distinguished Member Award in 2013. In 2008, Marsha was elected to serve on the NACM Oregon Board of Directors and will complete her term as Chairman in March 2015. She was honored in 2010 with the NACM Oregon CCE Designation of Excellence Award. Marsha is an avid fan of education, not only attending offerings but also teaching them. She's taught many collection-related seminars ranging from telephone collections, improving collection results to dealing with difficult customers. Marsha has also led many seminars to assist members on their NACM professional designation journey. Seeing the importance of serving as a mentor and coach to her credit team, she supports and encourages them to stay informed along with growing professionally through professional education. Marsha earned NACM's highest designation, the Certified Credit Executive (CCE) in 2009. Marsha says that the greatest challenge facing the NACM Affiliate network today lies in understanding how to move forward, while remaining relevant, given today's changing workforce demographics. "As we experience a shift in generations, we need to understand what will work going forward," says Marsha. She's committed to helping NACM take that hard look and to listen so that NACM can remain vibrant and viable well into the future. "NACM is a wonderful organization that has the potential to assist and support the majority of businesses in the US." Marsha said. "As a member of the NACM National Board, it will be my goal to ensure that we do the hard work to clearly identify where NACM's opportunities are and go after them." If elected to serve as a Director, Marsha commits to be visible in the local community and in the Pacific Northwest and will dedicate her full energy to do whatever she can to assist with the goals and programs on the National level." Marsha earned a degree in economics from the University of Washington. Sheryl Rasmusson, CBA Kilgore Architectural Products NACM Inland Northwest (Spokane. Washington) Member Sheryl Rasmusson, CBA oversees and manages all credit application processing, customer financial review and assessment, insurance, contracts and sales orders, while | managing an office of seven and field crew of i eight to 14 for Kilgore Architectural Prod,«] ucts. Kilgore Architectural Products is licensed as a commercial contractor in Washington, Idaho, Oregon and Montana. Over the past 12 years, Kilgore Architectural Products has incorporated sales, project management and installation crews to furnish and install specialty products on schools, libraries, churches, industrial and retail facilities, government buildings and private projects. While starting out in 1993 as an Administrative Assistant at the largest and oldest architectural firm in Spokane, Sheryl gained experience and knowledge in building and construction management. To advance in her career, she then began working for a general contractor, focusing in the areas of marketing, contracts and bookkeeping. After joining Kilgore in 2003, Sheryl was able to use the construction knowledge she'd gained to move into business and credit management. Sheryl joined the NACM Subcontractors & Suppliers Industry Credit Group, serving as Group Chair in 2011 and 2012. Believing in volunteerism, she became involved with her NACM affiliate, joining the Board of Directors in January 2010 where she currently services as the First Chair. She's been an active committee member at NACM Inland Northwest, holding positions on its Scholarship, Nominating, Events and Executive Committees; Sheryl also participated in the Emerging Leaders Focus Groups, sponsored by NACM-National and NACM affiliates in 2013. Outside of NACM, Sheryl works with Pine Tree 4H Club and has helped to provide support to a local family caring for their son who was battling cancer. She is a member of the Greater Spokane, Inc. Association, a business chamber, which concentrates in the four key business areas: economic development, education and workforce, public policy and small businesses. She is also a member of the Building Industry Association of Washington, Spokane Home Builders Association and the Spokane Regional Plan Center. In 2010, Sheryl began working to formalize her credit education by entering the NACM Professional Certification program. In 2011, Sheryl earned NACM's Credit Business Associate (CBA) designation. In 2014, Sheryl was honored by NACM Inland Northwest when she received the CBA Designation of Excellence Award. She also received the NACM National CBA Designation of Excellence Award in 2014. She believes that education will grow the membership and, armed with knowledge, members will in turn protect their company's bottom line. If elected, Sheryl looks forward to gathering and adding to the different perspectives of the Board, while striving to provide NACM members with "best in class" educational and networking opportunities. Member engagement is also key. Sheryl looks forward to continuing work on the initiative to bridge the generational gaps among members so that NACM can thrive and grow. Sheryl believes that NACM provides services and products that are critical to protecting and assessing credit risk and that maintaining superior services and products is the key to the continued success of the organization. Incorporating valuable traditions with new ideas will help NACM continue to grow. Sheryl welcomes the opportunity to "give back to a great organization." On October 10, the NACM Chairman will cast the vote to elect the sole candidates in the Eastern and Southern Regions. To serve as Director, Eastern Region, Chairman Myers will cast the vote to elect: Karen Haynes, CBA, Credit Supervisor Luck Stone Corporation, Manakin Sabot, VA Member of NACM South Atlantic in Virginia, the Carolinas and Orlando To serve as Director, Southern Region, Chairman Myers will cast the vote to elect: Kenny Wine, Regional Credit Manager Joseph T. Ryerson & Son, Inc., Little Rock, AR Member of NACM Southwest in Dallas (c) 2014 National Association of Credit Management |