Toronto-based Element Financial Corp. has named the senior leadership team that will lead the company's North American fleet management business based in Maryland and Minnesota.

The announcement includes 11 new U.S. appointments, as well as appointments of the executives who will lead the company's Canada and Mexico units. Element Financial closed its acquisition of GE Capital's fleet business in the U.S., Mexico, Australia, and New Zealand for $6.9 billion on Aug. 31.

Element picked "top talent and expertise from the recent acquisition of the GE's U.S. fleet services business and Element's existing fleet management team" for these roles, according to the company.

The new hires will report to Kristi Webb, Element Fleet's president and chief executive. Element Financial tapped Webb to lead its North American fleet business in late August.

New appointments include Jon Parker as senior vice president and chief commercial officer; Gary Anderson as senior vice president of strategic consulting and customer experience; Mark Hayes as senior vice president of marketing; Michele Cunningham as senior vice president of products and services; John Wall as senior vice president and chief technology officer; Mary Sticha as senior vice president of integration; Thomas Keilty as senior vice president of operations; Paul Danielson as senior vice president of legal; David Telep as senior vice president of human resources; Kathryn Parkinson as senior vice president of credit and risk; and Matthew Salm as senior vice president of strategic alliances and sourcing.

Element will continue to operate the two U.S. offices that were once headquarters to GE Capital Fleet Services and PHH Arval.

The new senior leadership members based in Eden Prairie, Minn., include Parker, Hayes, Sticha, and Telep.

Parker steps into a role overseeing sales and fleet management services. He served as chief commercial officer for GE Capital Fleet Services since 2010. Prior to that, he served in various commercial leadership roles over the past 20 years with GE Capital's lending and leasing businesses.

Hayes will now lead the marketing team and focus on "presenting a differentiated value proposition to the fleet market, and positioning the company for growth," according to the announcement. He served as the chief marketing officer fir GE Capital Fleet Services starting in 2012. He has serves in senior marketing roles for more than 25 years with GE and U.S. Bancorp.

Sticha will lead the integration of GE Capital's fleet business. She has worked for GE Capital Fleet Services for more than 30 years in a variety of commercial and operational leadership roles. Sticha is active in fleet industry associations such as NAFA, the Automotive Fleet & Leasing Association (AFLA), and the American Automotive Leasing Association (AALA).

The members based in Sparks, Md., include Anderson, Wall, Keilty, Danielson, Parkinson, and Salm.

Anderson will lead initiatives that include bringing the voice of the customers to the business. He was the chief business development officer for Element Fleet Management. He previously served with PHH Arval since 1986 in financial, sales support and direct sales roles.

Wall will lead the technology and IT parts of the organization. Wall joined Element Fleet Management as chief technology officer earlier in 2015. Prior to joining Element, he held a similar role with Symcor, one of Canada's leading financial processing services providers.

Keilty will lead the teams serving Element's customers across North America, including call centers, ordering, title and licensing, and implementation. He has been chief operating officer since 2009. He has been with the team since 1995.

Danielson becomes the chief legal counsel, a role he has held with Element since 2014. He has been a leader with the company's legal team since 2008.

Parkinson will be responsible for credit and risk management in the U.S. and Canada. She joined Element's commercial and vendor finance business in 2013, before moving to the fleet management business.

Salm's responsibilities include procurement and collaboration with Products and Services on strategic alliances. He joined Element in 2013, and was named vice president of strategic alliances in 2015. He has been in fleet industry leadership roles since 2010. 

Cunningham now leads the Products and Services team, where she will be responsible for "driving the growth and development of innovative solutions for fleet customers." She will also assist Jim Halliday, Element's executive vice president, in the coordination of the company's global value proposition of building on the Element-Arval alliance. Cunningham has been leading strategic development since 2011, and brings more than 20 years of experience in business-to-business and technology company leadership roles.

Additionally, Sebastien Blondin will continue in his role as president of Element's fleet management business in Canada. David Madrigal has been named president of Element's fleet management business in Mexico. He will begin that role after Element closes this portion of its acquisition of GE's fleet business. Blondin and Madrigal will report to Webb.

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