The International Factoring Association (IFA), the largest association of commercial finance companies in the world, announced that four new members have joined its Advisory Board. Members serve a two-year term and assist the IFA in broadening public understanding of the uses and benefits of factoring and receivables financing, help design training programs and foster new ideas to benefit the IFA’s member organizations.

The new members are:

• Chris Abel, Co-founder at iThrive Funding, LLC. Chris has spent his entire career in the financial services and factoring industry. Before founding iThrive, he held senior operations, risk management and underwriting positions with leading financial services organizations.
• John Cummings, Founder of ACS Factors. John began his career in factoring in 1983 working for an independent factoring company in Southern California. Over the years he has held diverse positions from operations to sales to firm management before founding ACS Factors in 2014.
• Tania Danial, Managing Director of ENGS Commercial Capital. Tania brings 17 years’ experience in the factoring industry with Porter Capital Corp. and LSQ Funding Group, where she was instrumental in building the firms into market leaders.
• Gerry Wawzonek, Co-founder and CEO of Capital Now Inc. Gerry has spent the last 25 years in the financial services industry, first in the mortgage brokerage sector before transitioning to the factoring sector in 2007. He has deep experience in all aspects of factoring, including underwriting, funding, administration, collections and investor relations.

IFA Executive Director Bert Goldberg stated, “I am pleased to welcome this distinguished group of individuals to our Board. Their broad financial services experience and expertise in factoring will provide a valuable perspective as we continue to enhance benefits for our members. I look forward to their contributions.”

Advisory Board Members returning for the second year of the term include Kee Kim, President & CEO at Finance One, Inc.; Paul Schuldiner, Senior Vice President at Rosenthal & Rosenthal; Nel Somarriba, President at New Century Financial; and Kevin Wood, Managing Director and Senior Vice President at Chesapeake Bank.