Astrid has worked in the Asset Finance industry for 20 years and is a highly experienced Sales professional with a strong track record of success working with funders including ING and Novuna Business Finance. She is currently at United Trust Bank where she is Head of Sales.

David Betteley started his career in Financial Services as a graduate trainee with Lloyds and Scottish Finance (part of the Lloyds Bank Group) in Manchester in the late 70’s. In 1989 he joined the International Motors Group (IM) to set up their in-house Finance Company in the UK to support the Hyundai and Subaru brands. Staying with IM, he moved to Sweden in 1992 to run the vehicle distribution operations for IM in Scandinavia, Russia and the Baltic states.

In 1996 he moved back to the UK to become MD of Vauxhall Finance and successfully managed the transition from 7 branches to one central location. In 1998 he was recruited by Toyota to insource their Financial Services operations in the UK. He went on to become a Senior Vice President when he had the responsibility for overall operations, sales and marketing and the development of new markets for both Toyota and Lexus in the Europe and Africa region.

During this 12 year period at Toyota he also served as a Pension Trusteee which gives him good experience to serve in a similar capacity at JLR. In 2010 David joined Jaguar Land Rover as Global Financial Services Director, retiring in July 2017. David now works as an independent advisor to Genpact Ltd and other companies. His main non-executive role has been as Chairman of the Finance and Leasing Association in the UK during the period May 2007 to May 2010.

David holds an MBA from Aston Business School Outside work his time is mainly devoted to his family. However he enjoys the occasional game of golf and still follows closely the fortunes of Manchester City.

Edward Peck is a life-long publisher.

He co-founded Asset Finance International in 2009, and prior to that Commercial Payments International.

He acquired the publishing divisions of Lafferty Limited in 2004 – where he ran retail banking; commercial and consumer cards; accounting and wealth management newsletters reports and global conferences. In 2004 he bought VRL Publishing, publishers of Leasing Life. Prior to that he was a Director at Huveaux PLC.

Former Managing Director of Dods Parliamentary Companion. He sold the family business, Nursery World, a weekly childcare magazine, to News International in 1997.

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.

Mark is a co-founder and director of Compass Business Finance, an independent company specialising in the provision of asset-based finance to niche industry sectors, such as, print, packaging, construction and engineering. Established in 2005, Mark and his brother Jamie have navigated the economic landscape and built a business that has achieved continual growth. In 2019, David Bunker joined the business as a third director helping to ignite an accelerated growth phase for the business which currently employs 24 team members. Compass operates a three-way hybrid broker-lender model: take broker business in, have a direct sales team, and broker business out, providing customers with a flexible and competitive approach to lending.

Key to the success of the business, is the depth of specialist knowledge possessed by the team, along with their agile, innovative and relational business style.

Mike Randall has over 30 years’ experience in the asset finance sector and has held many senior positions in that time.

In April 2017, he founded Simply in response to the need for innovation and disruption in the asset finance sector with the aim of providing customers with a better, faster, simpler, more efficient service. Simply have been recognised in the FT1000 list of fastest growing companies in Europe for three consecutive years.

A frequent speaker at industry events,  Mike sits in on the board of the FLA and is also a director of the Leasing Foundation, with a focus on innovation and actively developing young talent.

Philippa Pykett joined Shawbrook six years ago after time in Corporate Banking and Investment Banking Management Consulting.

As Head of Growth, Digital SME Lending she is responsible for driving growth across Shawbrook’s intermediated funding options that support businesses with their expenditure needs, including asset finance and term loans.

Philippa heads up a team of 10. The team is responsible for continuously developing the Digital SME proposition - including products, service, and technology - to serve the needs of its broker community and SME customers, as well as an operational team who pay out each customer deal. She is passionate about empowering brokers through the use of technology and delivering an exceptional experience to leave their customers delighted.

Stewart has operated within the Asset Finance sector for over 30 years, operating within the Vendor, Direct & Broker sectors. Stewart is the Sales Director at Paragon SME Lending reporting directly to John Phillipou (MD Paragon SME Lending & Chairman FLA), where he leads a team of External & Internal BDM’s, supporting & helping SME’s in the UK to innovate, adapt & grow. This is achieved through the capabilities & propositions of 3 distinct sales platforms including Broker, Vendor & a Specialist Lending capability (which incorporates Aviation, Invoice Finance and Receivables).

Prior to joining Paragon SME Lending in June 2023, Stewart previously held various Senior Sales Leadership roles at GE Capital, Aldermore, Shawbrook, Propel Finance and Midlands Asset Finance.

Finance, SME and Commercial Management executive with over several years experience in leading organisations. A track record of managing multiple businesses and complex relationships at board level.

Passionate about creating commercial and organisational culture which delivers sustainable value for the business and its stakeholders. Commercially focused with an ability to understand the long term impact of decision making on the success of the organisation and for the teams and individuals.

A high performance coach of managers and peers across a diverse range of business functions to build high performing teams

Matthew Ellery has over a decade of experience in the asset finance industry, having worked his way up through several of the UK’s most prominent funders. His career has been shaped by his extensive market knowledge and an impressive sales track record - qualities that led to his appointment as Head of Sales at Tower Leasing in early 2024.

Since joining Tower, Matt has led a strategic transformation of the sales function, most notably launching a direct-to-customer channel that has delivered impressive results within its first year. Under his guidance, the vendor team has also continued to experience significant growth, while his focus on diversifying Tower’s portfolio has helped lay the foundation for sustainable, long-term growth.

Known for his strategic thinking and collaborative leadership style, Matt is passionate about developing high-performing, empowered teams. He looks to cultivate a culture where innovation, accountability, and professional development thrive - values that continue to enhance Tower’s reputation in the industry.

Beyond his role at Tower, Matt dedicates his time to mentoring SME directors across several universities in the Midlands, helping the next generation of business leaders to build critical business management skills and explore innovative revenue opportunities.