The 2023 National Marine Lenders Conference will be highlighted by a distinguished list of guest speakers, comprised of some of the brightest minds from inside and outside the marine industry.  The conference speakers will cover a wide variety of topics related to the marine lending industry, including current economic conditions, product and inventory updates, company culture and best practices, political and legislative issues, and much more.

Keynote Speakers

Matt Gruhn

President, Marine Retailers Association of the Americas (MRAA) 

Matt Gruhn, President of the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas (MRAA) for more than 11 years, is a frequent guest speaker at our NMLA conference sharing what we need to know about our boat dealerships and their clients. A leader in the industry for more than 20 years, Matt has brought marine dealer training and professionalism to a new level.  His dedication to the industry has resulted in significant growth in the MRAA membership and the annual Marine Dealer Week MRAA Conference & Expo, which the NMLA proudly supports. 

Bill Yeargin

CEO, Correct Craft

Bill Yeargin, CEO of Correct Craft, a 98-year-old company with global operations, will be a keynote speaker at the 43rd annual National Marine Lenders Association annual lenders conference this September. Under Bill’s leadership, Correct Craft has developed a unique culture of “Making Life Better” and recognized by one publication as being “on an aggressive improvement path, the likes of which the marine industry has never seen.'’

Bill currently serves on the Board of the Florida Chamber of Commerce, the Florida Council of 100, and is board Chair of the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA). He served both the Obama and Trump administrations on cabinet-level advisory councils and actively represents both his company and industry on national and state issues.

Bill has been recognized with many of the marine industry’s top awards including Boating Industry's “Mover and Shaker of the Year.” Florida Trend magazine has recognized Bill as one of “Florida’s Most Influential Business Leaders” and he is an Orlando Business Journal “CEO of the Year’ Bill was also presented the “Governor’s Business Ambassador Medal” by the Governor of Florida.

A prolific writer, Bill has been published hundreds of times and has authored five books including the best seller Education of a CEO: Lessons for Leaders. 

Don Parkhurst

Sr Vice President, M&T Bank and NMLA Legislative Committee Chair 

Don Parkhurst, Senior Vice President and Marine Credit Manager at M & T Bank, has 42 years of banking and marine lending experience that has earned him recognition as an expert in marine and RV lending. Don has been interviewed on CNBC, in the Wall Street Journal, and by American Banker.

A past president of the NMLA, Don has served as a director since 1999, and is the Chairman of the association’s Legislative Committee. Don keeps the association informed on any pending issues that could adversely impact the marine industry or the lending community. Don, and other NMLA members, represent the association at the American Boating Congress in Washington DC each May, making sure our legislators hear our concerns.

Don managed SunTrust Bank’s Marine & RV Finance Division from 1998-2019 and he oversaw the marine division for SunTrust Bank’s predecessor, Crestar Bank, from 1993-1998. Prior to that, Don ran the consumer lending division of Continental Federal Savings Bank.

Don earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from the University of Virginia and is also a graduate of University of Virginia’s Graduate School of Retail Bank Management. 

Gina Martin Adams

Bloomberg, Global Head of Portfolio Strategy & Chief Equity Strategist

Gina Martin Adams is an economist that speaks your language and captivates audiences. She has shared her views on interest rates, consumer spending, inflation/deflation, government policy, leisure spending, and more with attendees of the NMLA annual lenders conferences over many years. We are proud to announce Gina will be joining us again this year at our September event.

Gina is the Global Head of Portfolio Strategy and Chief Equity Strategist for Bloomberg Intelligence, a unique research platform that provides context on markets, industries, companies, and government policy. She provides a top-down perspective on the equity market, sectors and industries with a multi-disciplined approach that utilizes fundamental, quantitative and technical analysis. Gina has been recognized for portfolio strategy, technical strategy and economics in Institutional Investors' All-America Research survey.

With a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with concentrations in Finance and Marketing from the University of Florida, Gina holds the Chartered Financial Analyst and Chartered Market Technician designations, is a member of the CFA Institute and CFA Society of New York and is on the Board of Directors for the CMT Association. She is also a member of the Financial Women's Association and 100 Women in Finance. She serves on the Business Advisory Council for Warrington College of Business at the University of Florida and is a member of the Advisory Board for Emory University’s Master of Analytical Finance Program.

E-signature Discussion Pros and Cons of Electronic Contracts

Geoff Kreller

CEO, Cornerstone Compliance

Geoff is a Certified Regulatory Compliance Manager (CRCM), a Certified Enterprise Risk Professional (CERP), and a graduate of The Johns Hopkins University.  He is a Maryland native with over 20 years of compliance, risk, and operational experience who leverages his expertise to develop and implement comprehensive solutions for distinct business needs.

Lauren Bodie

COO, Cornerstone Compliance

Executive VP and COO, is a risk and operations professional with over 15 years of experience in finance and compliance. A graduate of Towson University, she earned her MBA from the College of William & Mary.  She has worked extensively with both for-profit and nonprofit organizations with a passion for consumer protection and risk mitigation

Andréa Sinacola

Associate, Robert Allen Law

Andréa Sinacola is an Associate at Robert Allen Law, where she practices in the Corporate Law and Yacht Transaction divisions. Andréa’s familiarity with the yacht industry began at a young age participating in many offshore powerboat races across the Great Lakes of Michigan and assisting her family’s custom boat company at international boat shows. Andréa earned her BA degree at the University of Michigan in 2007 and her Juris Doctor Degree from DePaul University College of Law in 2015. Andréa is a member of the International Yacht Brokers Association, International Superyacht Society, National Italian American Foundation, and the Illinois State Bar Association.

Carrie Schmidt

President and Owner, Annapolis Yacht Documentation

Carrie Schmidt is president and owner of Annapolis Yacht Documentation, a trusted source for numerous yacht brokerages, dealers, and financial institutions in all aspects of state registration transactions and USCG documentation.

Chet Heughan

Sr. Director, AppOne

Chet Heughan is Senior Director at AppOne, a centralized web-based platform that connects automotive, marine, recreational vehicle, and powersport dealers with lenders.  AppOne’s goal is to remove obstacles in the lending process to allow dealers and lenders to complete paperwork, process loans, and close deals more efficiently and with less risk. Chet leads the company’s product strategy and sales organizations. 

Christine Wagner

President, New England Yacht Documentation Inc and President, AVDA

Christine Wagner is president of New England Marine Documentation Inc and the current president of the American Vessel Documentation Association (AVDA). New England Marine Documentation has been a leader in marine registry services, including USCG documentation, state registration, and foreign registry, for almost 50 years.

Breakout Sessions

Insuring against loan portfolio risks

Nima Seirafipour

Vice President, NFP

Nima Seirafipour is a vice president and account executive in the Financial Institution (FI) Group for NFP’s Property and Casualty division. He joined NFP through the acquisition of the Lenders Risk Team, where he served as CFO, and is now responsible for managing the Financial Institution Group finances and leads our loan portfolio division. Nima will discuss how lenders can protect their interest in a marine loan when the borrower is in default and a loss occurs, whether by non-payment of the loan, non-renewal of boat insurance, breach of warranty with boat insurance, and other situations.

Nima has more than 10 years of experience in the insurance industry and over 17 years of experience in accounting and finance. His technical specialties and areas of focus in loan portfolio risks include mortgage impairment, vendor single interest, REO liability, and lender-placed insurance. Nima Graduated from Towson University with a degree in accounting and obtained his master’s in finance after becoming a licensed C.P.A. 

Updates from widely-used web-based recreational lending platform

Chet Heughan

Sr. Director, AppOne

AppOne is a centralized web-based platform that connects automotive, marine, recreational vehicle, and powersport dealers with lenders.

Chet Heughan, Senior Director at AppOne, will update attendees on the company’s latest product development roadmap and application programming interface to help AppOne better integrate with lender and dealer software.

Chet will also share the latest news on their full e-Contracting project, which is a hot topic for NMLA members. AppOne’s goal is to remove obstacles in the lending process to allow you to complete paperwork, process loans, and close deals more efficiently and with less risk. Be sure to join Chet on Monday in one of the two back-to-back breakout sessions he will host.

Fraud Panel Discussion – How to Mitigate Fraud and Prevent Losses

Jeff Backus

COO, First Approval Source

Jeff Backus, founder of First Approval Source and 25-year veteran of the marine industry, has pulled together a panel of experts to discuss fraud in the financial sector, including cyber-crimes, and more specifically consumer lending. Jeff will lead this session with input from the following three leaders in their respective field: 

Matt O'Neill

Deputy Special Agent, U.S. Secret Service

Deputy Special Agent in Charge Matt O’Neill is a Special Agent with the U.S. Secret Service assigned to the Criminal Investigative Division, where he currently manages the Global Investigative Operations Center which supports the Secret Service’s efforts to combat transnational organized criminal groups.

Brian Krause

Vice President, Veriff

Brian Krause leads the European and US-based sales teams at Veriff, a global identity verification service company offering services for online businesses to mitigate digital fraud attempts and assisting regulatory compliance. 

Chris Schnieper

Senior Director of Market Planning, Lexis Nexis 

Chris Schnieper is a Senior Director of Market Planning in the Fraud & Identity area at Lexis Nexis. He focuses on working across a variety of different industries on strategic fraud and identity challenges, authentication needs, cybersecurity, and technology innovation. Chris also works with clients on how to protect their ecosystem with innovative solutions, including verifiable claims, decentralized identity and multifactor solutions that span customer journeys.

Collection & Recovery Panel Discussion – Best Practices

Karen Trostle

Stuart Best is a shareholder of Weltman, Weinberg & Reis Co., L.P.A. who practices in the Litigation and Defense Group, covering matters involving defensive as well as plaintiff litigation, all facets of consumer and commercial banking, asset recovery, business law, and real property in both federal courts and Michigan state courts. Stuart has handled many federal ship mortgage foreclosure matters, as well as a large volume of replevin practice.

Jonathan Braun is Executive Vice President and National Group Manager for Dealer Commercial Services at M&T Bank.  Jon has been in the Dealer space at the bank for 25 years and manages teams of Relationship Managers throughout the country who focus on Auto, RV, Marine, and Heavy Truck.

Derek Cason

Derek Cason is the Director of Specialty National Accounts for Manheim and Cox Automotive, assisting the industry’s top lenders of recreational equipment and large commercial fleet accounts by working with a group of branded specialty auctions to insure maximum return for his client’s assets.

Frank Kups

Thomas Thornton