We help our customers achieve greater success.
Our passion for excellence in everything we do will make us a business without competition.
In the financial services world, GreatAmerica distinguishes itself as a team-based, independent, family-owned business that delivers on its promises. Since its inception, GreatAmerica has built its reputation on deep loyalty with its channel partners, championing the importance of relationship and service over a commodity-based approach.
Shortly after its founding, GreatAmerica established 10 guiding principles that would form the basis of its relationships. It was important to have a singular document that didn’t distinguish between how we treat our customers and how we treat each other.
Watch the GreatAmerica Origin Story (6 min)
When Tony Golobic set out to build GreatAmerica, he wanted to create a company that valued service to its customers and embraced the entrepreneurial spirit. He wanted an innovative company that aspired to the highest standards of excellence in everything it did to become a business without competition.
Watch the GreatAmerica Origin Story (6 min)
The scalability of the team structure also preserved the intimate, small-company feel as GreatAmerica expanded. Teams of empowered individuals rising to their potential and making informed decisions continue to benefit the company and its customers today. Everyone at GreatAmerica participates in a bonus structure that integrates personal and company goals that help grow GreatAmerica and reward individual team member accomplishments.
GreatAmerica has become an employer of choice in Eastern Iowa. In 2007, the company was named “The Best Place to Work” by The Edge of Excellence. In 2011, a Des Moines Register poll ranked GreatAmerica 4th in the state among midsize companies as one of the best places to work. GreatAmerica has refined its hiring processes to fit its culture of highly motivated teams. Team members have a great degree of autonomy in creating their own personal fulfillment. They are encouraged to demonstrate special interests, experience, or skills that help advance GreatAmerica goals and objectives. This, in turn, fuels our high retention rates and internal satisfaction levels that translate directly into a positive and consistent customer experience.
GreatAmerica is organized into eight segments: Office Equipment, Connected Technology, Automotive Service and Repair, HealthCare, Direct Programs, Construction and Survey, GreatAmerica Portfolio Services Group LLC, and Collabrance LLC. Each unit immerses itself into its respective market and taps into the complex dynamics that go into making a business successful. Our expertise is gained through internal training, dealer councils, industry events, and intense research in the industry each business unit serves. These activities inform all levels of the company and create a fertile environment that fosters innovative problem-solving.
Knowledge is not a static concept at GreatAmerica, and creating a fluid environment begins with an easy flow of communication among team members and company leadership. Facilitated by an open floor plan with no walls, this communication is vital to identifying opportunities and bringing meaningful change to the markets we serve. This change comes in the form of innovative programs, tools, and solutions for our customers.
Empowerment, cross-training and the culture of innovation are critical to the continued success of GreatAmerica. Indeed, the sharing of team roles creates a feedback loop essential to the smooth and consistent delivery of our services.
Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer
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Tony Golobic, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of GreatAmerica Financial Services, has been involved in equipment financing since 1971.
Prior to founding GreatAmerica in 1992, Tony served as General Manager of GE Capital Office Technology Financial Services, President and Chief Executive Officer of LeaseAmerica Corporation, and Senior Vice President of Mellon Financial Services.
Tony earned his M.B.A. degree in Finance from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business in 1971 and a B.S.B.A. degree in Accounting from Roosevelt University in 1969. He has also passed the Certified Public Accountant exam.
Tony is a member of the Boards of the Iowa College Foundation and Mercy Medical Center. He serves on the Board of Directors of Admiralty Holding, Inc. Tony is also on the Board of Trustees for the National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library. Previously, Tony has been a member of the following Boards of Directors: Board of Trustees of Coe College, Cedar Rapids Symphony Orchestra, Village Bank & Trust Company, Equipment Leasing and Finance Association, Equipment Leasing and Finance Foundation, Cedar Rapids Freedom Festival, and Eastern Iowa Enterprise Council.
Tony is a veteran of the U.S. Army and served in Vietnam.
President
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Stan Herkelman is President of GreatAmerica Financial Services Corporation. Stan, along with Joe Terfler and David Pohlman, is a member of the GreatAmerica Office of the President. The Office of the President makes strategic, financial, and operational decisions that set the direction of the company.
Prior to joining GreatAmerica in 1998, Stan practiced law, representing primarily institutional lenders in commercial asset-based lending transactions, workouts, and bankruptcies.
Stan earned his J.D. from Yale Law School and his B.B.A. from the University of Iowa with an accounting emphasis. He is a member of the bar in Illinois and has passed the Certified Public Accountant examination.
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
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David Pohlman is Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. David, along with Stan Herkelman and Joe Terfler, is a member of the GreatAmerica Office of the President. The Office of the President makes strategic, financial and operational decisions that set the direction of the company. In his role as Chief Operating Officer, David is responsible for the sales, marketing, operations and strategic planning for all Business Units within GreatAmerica.
Prior to joining GreatAmerica in 2003, David was the Senior Vice President and General Manager of US Bancorp's small ticket vendor leasing businesses. Prior to US Bancorp, David spent 11 years with Lyon Financial Services. His positions included General Manager of their BCL office equipment business unit and General Manager of their Secured Funding healthcare business unit.
David earned his B.S. from St. Cloud State University and an advanced management degree from Babson School of Executive Education. David is a former Board Member of the United Way of East Central Iowa.
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
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Joe Terfler is Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Joe, along with Stan Herkelman and David Pohlman, is a member of the GreatAmerica Office of the President. The Office of the President makes strategic, financial and operational decisions that set the direction of the company. In his role as Chief Financial Officer, Joe is responsible for the GreatAmerica Finance Organization which includes accounting and financial reporting, treasury, tax, financial analysis and the finance operations teams.
Prior to joining GreatAmerica in 2002, Joe served in various finance and accounting leadership roles for two publicly traded companies in the telecommunications and automated information/mobile computing systems markets. Joe began his professional career with PricewaterhouseCoopers serving clients in a variety of industries with primary emphasis in the railroad, software and leasing industries.
Joe earned his B.B.A. in Accounting from the University of Iowa. He was a Certified Public Accountant (earning the gold medal in the State of Missouri on the November 1991 exam) and remains a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Iowa Society of Certified Public Accountants. Joe volunteers his time with the Finance Committee of the Grant Wood Chapter of the American Red Cross, the Cub Scouts and the American Youth Soccer Organization.
Senior Vice President and Chief Risk Officer
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Marty Klees, Senior Vice President and Chief Risk Officer, is responsible for operational risk management of GreatAmerica, including oversight of the company's business unit operational leadership roles. He also oversees the company's documentation, portfolio management, account support, and end-of-term functions.
Prior to joining GreatAmerica in 1995, Marty was a Certified Public Accountant working in the audit practice of Ernst & Young LLP. In his tenure with GreatAmerica, Marty has held various senior level positions, including Vice President of Sales, Vice President of Operations, and Senior Vice President and General Manager of our Communications and Data Business Unit.
Marty earned his B.A. in Accounting from the University of Northern Iowa and his M.B.A. from the University of Iowa School of Management and holds a Certified Public Accountant designation.
Marty serves on the Board of Directors for the Better Business Bureau and the ELFA Small Ticket Leasing Steering Committee.
Senior Vice President & General Counsel
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Jeff J. Goedken, Senior Vice President & General Counsel, is responsible for all legal matters and leads the GreatAmerica Legal Team.
Prior to joining GreatAmerica in 2002, Jeff was a partner in what is now the Simmons Perrine Moyer & Bergman law firm in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he practiced law for ten years. His practice consisted primarily of representing businesses and their owners in the formation and capitalization of new enterprises, mergers and acquisitions, executive compensation, qualified retirement plans, tax matters, real estate, estate planning, and the negotiation and documentation of a wide variety of commercial transactions.
Jeff received his J.D. degree with distinction from the University of Iowa College of Law in 1992. Prior to attending law school, he received the CPA certification in Iowa and practiced public accounting with the regional CPA firm RSM for two years. Jeff received his B.S. degree, summa cum laude, in Accounting and Business Administration from Mt. Mercy College in 1987.
Senior Vice President, Relationship Risk Management
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Jared Hanlin is Senior Vice President, Relationship Risk Management. In this role, Jared leads the GreatAmerica operational risk team and ensures the people and processes are in place to monitor, evaluate, and mitigate operational and portfolio risk in the originating and service-based business units.
Additionally, Jared manages the GreatAmerica supplier approval and review process. Previously, Jared was a member of the GreatAmerica Legal Team where he primarily focused on supporting new program development within the originating business units.
Prior to GreatAmerica, Jared practiced law, representing issuers and investment banks in asset-backed securitization transactions.
Jared received his J.D. from the University of Iowa College of Law and B.B.A. in Finance from the University of Iowa Tippie College of Business.
Senior Vice President, Credit and Chief Credit Officer
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Stephanie Severin, Senior Vice President, Credit and Chief Credit Officer, is responsible for leading GreatAmerica credit underwriting personnel and processes.
Prior to joining GreatAmerica in 2003, her professional experience included managerial roles at law firms and municipal organizations. Stephanie has served in various functions within GreatAmerica including Litigation Specialist, Internal Auditor, Large Transaction Credit Analyst, and Vice-President, Credit. She was promoted to Chief Credit Officer in 2014.
Stephanie is a Certified Lease and Finance Professional, as well as a graduate of Mount Mercy University with a B.A. in Psychology and a graduate of the MBA program at the University of Iowa. She is a member of the United Way Accountability Review Team, and has previously served as Treasurer of Waypoint Services and a Volunteer Crisis Counselor at Foundation 2.
Senior Vice President and General Manager, Office Equipment Group
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Jennie Fisher, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Office Equipment Group, is responsible for sales, marketing, operations, and financial performance for this business unit. She has been involved in lease financing since 1989.
Prior to joining GreatAmerica in 1993, Jennie worked for GE Capital. In her tenure with GreatAmerica, Jennie has held various leadership positions including Team Leader East Coast, Sales Director Office Equipment, Vice President of Strategic Marketing and Vice President of Sales for the Office Equipment Group.
Jennie earned her M.B.A. from the University of Iowa in May 2004. Jennie serves on the Board of Directors for the MPSA, Itex Advisory Board and Junior Achievement of Eastern Iowa. She previously served on the Board of Directors for Big Brothers, Big Sisters.
Senior Vice President, IT Channel and Services
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Greg VanDeWalker, Senior Vice President, IT Channel and Services, is responsible for strategic vision and performance for the IT and Unified Communication financing business units as well as Collabrance LLC, the GreatAmerica master managed services provider.
Prior to joining GreatAmerica in 2003, Greg was General Manager for the transportation division of US Bancorp in Denver, Colorado. He began his leasing career in 1991 with Business Credit Leasing (BCL) in sales and sales management. Prior to BCL, Greg was a tax accountant for Arthur Andersen & Company.
Greg was recognized by MSPMentor in 2014 in their Top People in Managed Services list. In 2016 and 2017, he was awarded the Channel Chief designation by CRN. He served as Chair of the inaugural Managed Print Services Community of CompTIA, and has helped various advisory boards in the IT, Telephony and Office Equipment channels.
Greg received his B.S. degree in accounting.
Senior Vice President & General Manager, Specialty Markets Group
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Brian Bjella, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Specialty Markets Group (Construction, HealthCare, Automotive, and Direct Programs Divisions), is responsible for sales, marketing, and strategic planning.
Prior to joining GreatAmerica in 2010, Brian was the President and principal of Grandview Financial, a small ticket equipment finance lessor. Prior to Grandview, Brian spent 12 years with Lyon Financial/US Bancorp Business Equipment Finance. His positions included Senior Vice President and General Manager of US Bank Manifest Funding Services, Executive Director of Sales for US Bank Manifest Funding Services, and General Manager of Stellar Financial.
Brian has served on the Boards of Directors for the Eastern Association of Equipment Lessors, United Association of Equipment Lessors and the National Equipment Finance Association. Brian earned his B.S. from Mankato State University with Magna Cum Laude honors in Finance and Marketing.
Senior Vice President, Operations
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Matt Mueller is Senior Vice President, Operations. Matt is responsible for leading the Operations Domains at GreatAmerica and works with leadership to understand, prioritize, and ultimately evolve/create the business capabilities necessary to meet the needs of GreatAmerica customers now and in the future.
Prior to joining GreatAmerica in 2011, Matt was an Analyst with Lehman Brothers in the Global Communications and Media group, followed by an Associate position in First National Investment Banking’s M&A department. In his tenure with GreatAmerica, Matt served as Vice President, Corporate Strategy where he led the development and evolution of the GreatAmerica corporate 7-year vision. He also led efforts to create the five-year forecasting process, refined the annual budgeting process, participated in multiple transformative capital structure transactions, and performed detailed analysis on various corporate strategic initiatives.
Matt earned an MBA in Finance (2012) and a BBA in Finance (2005), both from the University of Iowa. Matt currently serves on the Tippie Finance Advisory Council Board at the University of Iowa.
Vice President and General Manager of GreatAmerica Portfolio Services Group LLC
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Joe Andries, Vice President and General Manager of GreatAmerica Portfolio Services Group LLC, is responsible for the sales, marketing, operational oversight and strategic planning for the Portfolio Services Group.
Prior to joining GreatAmerica Portfolio Services Group in 2010, Joe was the Senior Vice President and General Manager of US Bank’s Portfolio Services and Small Ticket Capital Markets Divisions. Prior to US Bank, Joe spent 12 years with Lyon Financial Services. His positions included General Manager of their Stellar Financial Services Division, Operations Manager of their BCL Capital Division, and Credit Manager of their Manifest Funding Group.
Joe earned his B.S. degree from St. John’s University in Collegeville, MN.
Vice President and General Manager, Connected Technology Group
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Martin Golobic, Vice President and General Manager, Connected Technology Group, is responsible for sales, marketing, operations, financial performance and strategic direction of the business unit.
Martin has served in various functions within GreatAmerica that include Credit Analyst, Vendor Relationship Manager, Regional Account Manager, National Account Manager, and Director of Operations – New Strategic Opportunities.
Martin earned his B.A. degree in Economics from Colorado College in 2009. Martin is a member of the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art Board of Trustees and a former Board Member of the Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre.
Vice President and General Manager, Collabrance LLC
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Corey Kerns, Vice President and General Manager, Collabrance LLC, is responsible for sales, marketing, operations, strategic leadership and financial performance of the Business Unit.
In 2015, Corey joined Collabrance as the Senior Finance and Operations Analyst. In this role, Corey was responsible for developing and monitoring key performance indicators, as well as assisting in the evaluation of profitability, efficiency and automation strategies.
Prior to joining Collabrance, Corey started at GreatAmerica in 2011 and served as the Senior Business Unit Analyst for the Connected Technology Group. In this role, Corey led all activities with respect to financial controls and evaluating the financial implications of the business unit’s operating strategy.
Corey received his B.A. in Business Administration from Wartburg College and earned an M.B.A. from the University of Iowa.
Vice President and Managing Director of Sales, Office Equipment Group
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Wil Meggers, Vice President and Managing Director of Sales, Office Equipment Group, is responsible for the overall sales strategy of the business unit.
Prior to joining GreatAmerica in 2004, Wil was an independently licensed insurance agent for the Eastern Iowa region.Wil joined GreatAmerica as a Vendor Relationship Manager for the East Atlantic Region. Wil has also served as the Vice President of Sales for the Office Equipment Group. He moved to Communications and Data in 2009 as the VP of Sales, was promoted to VP/Managing Director in 2012, and in 2014 became the VP & General Manager of the group.
Wil received a B.A. degree in Computer Science from the University of Iowa.
Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Automotive Division
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Steve Rybos, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Specialty Markets Group-Automotive Division, is responsible for sales, marketing, and strategic planning.
Prior to joining GreatAmerica in 2007, Steve held sales management roles at Home Capital, Inc. and MassMutual Financial Group. Steve joined GreatAmerica as National Account Manager within the Distribution Group. In 2011, Steve was promoted to Vice President of Sales, and in 2012 became VP/Managing Director.
Steve received a B.S. degree in Industrial & Systems Engineering from Georgia Tech.
Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Construction Division
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Bill Johnson, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Specialty Markets Group-Construction Division, is responsible for sales, marketing, and strategic planning.
Prior to joining GreatAmerica in 2015, Bill held sales and operations management roles in a broad range of industries including technology, manufacturing, and oil and gas. Bill previously held positions at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Pactiv, and Marathon Oil. Bill joined GreatAmerica as Director Of National Accounts within the Specialty Markets Group. In 2019, Bill was promoted to Vice President of Sales & Marketing.
Bill received a dual B.S. degree in Accounting & Finance from Wright State University and an M.B.A. from the University of Houston. He also holds Executive Education certifications from The University of Chicago and Cornell University. Bill is a volunteer for the Linn-Mar Youth Baseball Organization and the Linn-Mar Foundation.
Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Healthcare Division
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Larry Feldstein, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Healthcare Division is responsible for sales, marketing, operations, and strategic leadership of the Healthcare Group.
Prior to joining GreatAmerica in 2020, Larry spent 15 years as the Vice President of Sales and Program Management for DLL’s US Healthcare Division. Prior to DLL, Larry spent 7 years with CitiCapital as the Vice President of Business Development. Larry began his career with Beckman Coulter a market leader in clinical diagnostics. His positions included, Senior Accountant, Regional Financial Services Manager and Director of Financial Services.
Larry earned his B.A. in Accounting and Finance from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
Vice President, Corporate Sales Operations
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Lindsay Bohon is our Vice President of Corporate Sales Operations. She provides strategic and tactical stewardship for the sales function at GreatAmerica, working with Business Unit Leaders . She also oversees the National Account programs for the Office Equipment Group and has been involved with lease financing since 1999.
Prior to joining GreatAmerica, Lindsay held several sales positions at GE Capital. Lindsay received multiple company awards including Appreciation and Excellence certificates and Six Sigma designations. She joined GreatAmerica as a Regional Account Manager for the Southwest Region in 2005.
Vice President Sales, Office Equipment Group
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Key Kain, Vice President of Sales, is responsible for providing unified, strategic leadership for the sales processes in the Office Equipment Group’s internal business teams. He has been involved in lease financing since 2007.
Prior to joining GreatAmerica in 2007, Key was a team leader at the Financial Services headquarters for Praxair Distribution. Key started in the Office Equipment Group as a portfolio manager with the Northeast Team, becoming a Vendor Relationship Manager–Sales in 2009. In 2014 he was promoted to Director, Vendor Relationship Development and Sales Mentor prior to becoming Vice President of Sales in 2016.
Key received his B.A. in Business Administration from Grand View University.
Vice President Sales, Office Equipment Group
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Kim Louden, Vice President of Sales for the Office Equipment Group, is responsible for providing unified, strategic leadership for the sales processes in the Office Equipment Group’s Field Sales Teams.
Prior to joining GreatAmerica in 1996, Kim worked in the lease financing sector since 1991. She has performed a number of roles across several different functions at GreatAmerica including credit, sales, and team leader. Kim serves on the Standards and Best Practices committee for the MPSA and was recently recognized by ENX as a 2016 Difference Maker. Kim earned her B.A and M.B.A from the University of Iowa.
Vice President Sales, Office Equipment Group
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Mitch Leahy, Vice President of Sales for the Office Equipment Group, is responsible for providing strategic leadership for the internal business teams.
During his nine years at GreatAmerica, Mitch has been in multiple roles with increasing responsibilities. After joining GreatAmerica in 2008 as a Credit Analyst within the Office Equipment Group, he was promoted as an inaugural member of the Corporate Credit team in 2010, where his focus was underwriting larger ticket transactions originated across business units and formalizing the company’s transaction syndication structure. Most recently, from 2012 to 2017, he held the position of Vendor Operations Leader where he was responsible for leading a team focused on identifying and implementing strategies for managing corporate risk and new program implementation. Mitch received his B.A. in Finance from the University of Northern Iowa.
Vice President Sales, Unified Communications and IT Group
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Nick Nielsen, Vice President of Sales for the Unified Communications and IT Group, is responsible for leading the sales team and managing improvements to the overall customer experience and sales process.
Prior to joining GreatAmerica in 2008, Nick worked for U.S. Cellular for 7 years and served in sales and marketing leadership positions in the telecom industry. Nick joined GreatAmerica as a Director of Business Development for the Direct Programs Group. More recently, Nick served as the Director, Vendor Relationship Development for Large Accounts in the Communications and Data Group.
Nick received a B.A. from Coe College and an M.B.A. from the University of Iowa.
Vice President Sales, Connected Technology Group
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Cody Jandik, Vice President Sales, Connected Technology Group, is responsible for leading the sales team and managing improvements to the overall customer experience and sales process.
Cody started his career at GreatAmerica in 2011 as the Director of Vendor Relationship Development and maintained that role until moving into his current position in 2017. He has spent all six years in the Communications and Data Group, and only 3 months outside the Data team.
Cody received a B.A. from Central College.
Vice President and Managing Director of Sales, Connected Technology Group
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Lee Rozeboom, Vice President and Managing Director of Sales, Connected Technology Group, builds and maintains relationships with resellers, manufacturers and associations in the technology industry. In addition to being a liaison between GreatAmerica and the tech industry, Lee provides oversight and guidance to the MSP team.
In his previous role, Lee served as the Vice President of Sales for the MSP division. He has been involved in lease financing since 2006. Prior to joining GreatAmerica in 2006, Lee worked for a financial planning company and achieved his Series 6 and 65 ratings.
Lee received his Bachelor of Science in Finance and Marketing from Babson College in Wellesley, MA.
Vice President, Human Resources
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Diane Vanis, Vice President, Human Resources, is responsible for leadership to the “core” areas of the Human Resources Function for GreatAmerica, including recruiting, retention, compensation, benefits and employee relations.
Prior to joining GreatAmerica in 2004, Diane worked for Nash Finch Company in a variety of Human Resources leadership roles, including Corporate and Division positions.
Diane has attained the SPHR (Senior Professional Human Resources) Certification and has over 30 years of human resources and employee relations experience.
Vice President, Talent & Organization Development
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Lisa Lefebure, Vice President, Talent & Organization Development, is responsible for leading GreatAmerica succession planning, organizational design, and strategic planning efforts. Lisa also focuses on leadership and team member development, team member engagement, cultural stewardship activities, and providing leadership to the Corporate Learning & Development function at GreatAmerica.
Lisa joined the organization in 2007 as a credit analyst and was promoted to Large Transaction Analyst in the Corporate Credit team before moving into Human Resources in 2017. Lisa has led major initiatives including the establishment of development programs for credit and sales talent, serving as a business leader of IT system changes, spearheading team member engagement efforts, creating a benchmarking and efficiency modeling philosophy for the credit function, financial modeling, and facilitation of GreatAmerica strategic planning efforts.
Lisa is a graduate of Cornell College with a degree in Economics and a minor in Political Science, and is also a graduate of the MBA program at the University of Iowa. She is an active volunteer with the Celebration of Agriculture Committee and StoneBridge Kids Ministry of StoneBridge Church.
Vice President, Information Technology
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Jim Burns is Vice President, Information Technology and is a member of the GreatAmerica Office of the CIO. The Office of the CIO makes decisions that set the technology direction of the company and include ideation, strategy, solution delivery, and operational decisions. Jim is responsible for the overall vision for technology, including budgets, security, continuity planning, and IT operations.
Prior to joining GreatAmerica in 1996, Jim spent 4 years as head of Information Technology at the FREEDOM Group, a company specializing in insurance software. Before FREEDOM Group, Jim worked in IT for a multinational insurance firm. Jim started his career as an IT Systems Integrator, serving many roles including sales, engineering and application development.
Vice President, Strategic Technology
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Tawnya Stone, Vice President, Strategic Technology, is a member of the GreatAmerica Office of the CIO. The Office of the CIO makes decisions that set the technology direction of the company and include ideation, strategy, solution delivery, and operational decisions. In this role, Tawnya is responsible for customer-facing tools and products across various GreatAmerica business units. She works in close collaboration with business unit and functional leadership and external technology partners. Tawnya joined GreatAmerica in 2011 as an IT Project Manager and eventually evolved into subsequent roles that blended technology and customer facing activities. Prior to joining GreatAmerica she worked for Philips Electronics and Verizon Communications in the Washington DC metro area.
Tawnya is also Vice President of the Managed Print Services Association and is an Executive Council member of CompTIA’s Technology Lifecycle Services Community and past Chair of CompTIA’s Managed Print Services Community. She was recognized by ENX as a Difference Maker in 2016 and 2018. Tawnya also is a member of the Technology and Operations committee within the ELFA.
Tawnya is a Certified Lease and Finance Professional and earned her B.S. in Management Information Systems from Iowa State University in 1995 and her M.B.A. from Marymount University in 1999.
Vice President, Corporate Communications
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Matt Doty, Vice President Corporate Communications, is responsible for maintaining image execution and brand continuity throughout the company. This includes written and verbal communications with internal and external audiences and overall strategic and tactical marketing activities.
Prior to joining GreatAmerica in 1998 as a consultant, Matt was a Reporter/Anchor for a CBS News affiliate, then a writer with the Associated Press. He followed his writing career to the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences as a Communications Officer. He was the founder of Strong Productions, Inc., a Cedar Rapids marketing/design firm, leading it for seven years prior to GreatAmerica.
Matt earned a B.A. degree in Latin American Studies from the University of New Mexico. He serves on the board of trustees of Big Brothers Big Sisters, and the board of Theatre Cedar Rapids.
Vice President, Finance
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Scott Rheinschmidt, Vice President, Finance, is responsible for GreatAmerica Financial Planning and Analysis teams and provides strategic oversight and support to our Treasury Team.
Prior to joining GreatAmerica in 2007, Scott began his professional career with KPMG’s audit practice primarily serving clients in the financial services industry. In his tenure with GreatAmerica, Scott has served numerous business units as a financial analyst and also led the company’s financial planning efforts.
Scott earned his B.A. in Accounting and Management from Luther College and is a Certified Public Accountant
Controller
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Renae Kinney, Controller, is responsible for the overall financial reporting of GreatAmerica, including implementing and monitoring GreatAmerica internal financial controls, financial statement preparation, financial budget variance analysis, and payroll.
Prior to joining GreatAmerica in 2017, Renae was an audit manager working in the audit practice of Deloitte & Touche, L.L.P., where she primarily participated in financial statement and internal control audits of public and private companies.
Renae earned her B.A. in Accounting and Finance from Wartburg College and holds a Certified Public Accountant designation.
Vice President and Treasurer
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Zach Paulson, Vice President and Treasurer, is responsible for the GreatAmerica Treasury Department which includes managing the company’s funding sources, interest rate hedging activities, lender and investor relationships, and the overall cash management strategy and processes.
In 2005, Zach began his professional career with GreatAmerica in the Treasury Department. His responsibilities have continued to expand and, most recently, he held the position of Assistant Treasurer. From 2004 to 2005, he was involved in finance and accounting roles at GreatAmerica as an intern.
Zach earned a B.A. in Finance with an Economics minor from the University of Northern Iowa, graduating with honors.
Vice President, Associate General Counsel & Corporate Secretary
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Michelle Halverson, Vice President, Associate General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, provides advice and counsel on various legal matters and works closely with management and the board of directors on corporate governance matters.
Prior to joining GreatAmerica in 2018, Michelle was a corporate associate in the Chicago office of Sidley Austin LLP, a large, international law firm. While at Sidley, Michelle represented buyers and sellers in public and private mergers and acquisitions and private equity transactions. She also advised publicly traded and privately held companies and their boards of directors on a broad range of corporate matters, including SEC reporting obligations and disclosure requirements, exchange listing standards, executive compensation and corporate governance policies and practices.
Michelle received her J.D. degree with high distinction from The University of Iowa College of Law. While in law school, Michelle was a judicial extern to the Honorable Michael J. Melloy of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, and the Honorable Thad J. Collins and the Honorable Paul J. Kilburg of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Iowa. Michelle received her B.S. degree, summa cum laude, in Business from Mount Mercy College.
Vice President, Corporate Marketing
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Heather S. Friedman, Vice President Corporate Marketing, is responsible for developing and managing strategic marketing plans for GreatAmerica business units and supporting corporate sales initiatives.
Prior to joining GreatAmerica in 2019, Heather was the Founding Partner of an award-winning advertising and marketing agency in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She has extensive experience on both the client and agency sides of marketing communications and brings her passion for creating marketing strategies to GreatAmerica. She also served as Marketing Director for National Systems Contractors Association and spent many years in marketing and finance within the telecom and publishing industries.
Heather received her B.A. from Regis University in Denver, CO with Magna Cum Laude honors. She currently serves on the Executive Board of Directors for Collins Community Credit Union and the Boards of Directors for Orchestra Iowa and the Community Health Free Clinic.
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